Bolt: The Inbetween Race
by Firepower Phoenix
Summary: When movie star Bolt goes missing, we only saw him make it across the country with two friends, and save his person from the fire. What we didn't see was Bolt's secret, unknown guardians, the SSAONA, protecting him from his evil brother, Volt, who will stop at nothing to capture Bolt. It is race against the two different societies, and it leads up to the truth of how the fire began
1. Escape and Bad Connection

"Hey, Bolt!" The black cat chuckled and opened the trailer's top door, on the roof, only to scatter away with his chubby feline friend as Bolt leapt up and ran out across the abandoned TV set. A man in a big, black protective suit - so that the dog didn't bite him - burst through the door and yelled, "Wait! Bolt, come back!"  
The white dog was a flash as he ran into a hallway with slick floors, following the sound of Penny's "Bolt, help"s. He slided past the room with a bored looking man sitting at a computer, editing a past episode. He continued running past an open doorway, then slid to a stop and turned around. Running into the room, filled with boxes and packages needing to be shipped, he looked toward the window. There was a long, greenish-blue plastic box strapped down to a flatbed truck. "Penny!" Bolt called, jumping on the top of the boxes until he got to the window. He leaped to the window, ready to burst through it with his super strength, when he hit the glass and fell backward, into a cardboard box.  
The little pink packing peanuts flew up, then settled back down, making Bolt disappear under a blanket of light pink. A man with headphones around his head, packing tape in hand, entered the room and closed the box, sealing it shut. Loading the boxes up, he put them in a big delivery truck and slammed it shut.

A Cattle Dog with blue and brown mixed fur ran up the final stairs, panting, and ran down a dusty hall. The whole building was filled to the brim with dust, dirt and mud splashed along the walls, thousands of paw prints outlined in the dust on the ground. He passed a window, looking outside from the third story of the old, abandoned building.  
He stopped at a door, part way open, and pushed it open further with his nose. Inside he saw a Dalmatian talking to two Shepherd's, pointing at the screens behind the three. The screen showed video footage from a TV set, showing a bright blue scenery made to look realistic. A trailer with distinctive writing, a simple four-letter word on the side, stood in the middle of the building. BOLT.  
Sypher glanced at the still image, wondering why the surveillance cameras weren't playing as usual. He shook his head and tried to get the attention of the largest Shepherd in the room. "But, sir, I can't just fix it!" Carter, the Dalmatian, said. "Carlos and Timber are working on the sattelite system, and if I fix this, then it will electrocute them!"  
Arrow, the largest Shepherd, sighed. "Okay, well, like I said not a minute ago, fix it as soon as they are done. We need the cameras going 24/7, Carter."  
"Yes, sir, but I can't fix them now!" "Oh, Carter, okay!" Arrow said, brushing past him and toward the Cattle Dog. "Fix it whenever you can!"  
Maria, the other Shepherd, followed Arrow and cocked her head at the Cattle Dog. "Sypher, what's wrong? You look like you've just run a mile, chased by a ghost."  
"Well, considering four flights of stairs, and running all the way from the basement, sublevel A, that is pretty much a mile." Sypher took a deep breath. "And as for the ghost part, I might as well be chased by one." He looked directly at Arrow. "Something has come up, something our backup computer systems found."  
"Wait, wait, wait!" Carter came over, rolling his eyes dramatically. "You've been using the backup system? Oh dog, no wonder we're having computer issues!"  
"Well, yeah, because Rain and I didn't feel like killing Timber and Carlos today." Sypher snapped. "But anyway, this just came in from the studios. Bolt is missing."  
All three dogs gasped and their eyes widened as wide as golf balls. "What?" Arrow barked, finding his voice first. "What do you mean? Missing?"  
"Yes, missing," An exhausted voice said, entering the room. A stormy colored dog, mixed breed, sighed and came to stand near Sypher. "Syph and I were monitoring the feeds, and also watching the broadcast, when we saw the news story of the day: Famous Movie Star Dog Goes Missing."  
"What? How can that be? We were watching the cameras constantly, up until the time that the connection went crazy." Maria said, nervously glancing at the screens. "That was not thirty minutes ago!"  
"Well, in thirty minutes we just lost our super dog," Sypher grimaced. "No one seems to be able to find him, in the studio or around. And who knows what danger there is?"  
"There is wild dogs, stray mutts, big cars, real robber and cat burgulars, tyranosaurus rexs, and . . ." Carter drew in a deep breath. "Volt and his gang."  
Arrow shook his head. "Okay, here is what we're going to do. Right now we will need to search all of Hollywood, and I need twenty or so dogs around the studio. If we're lucky, he won't have gone far. Syph, I need you and Rain to join me, also round up the best and most trained dogs in case Volt is looking for him as well. We need to be ready if we have to confront Volt and be able to find Bolt and get him back safely."  
"Yes, sir." Rain and Sypher said in unison, nodding and turning to run out the door.  
"Do you think Volt caused the connection problem at this moment, so we wouldn't realize it for the first thirty minutes?" Maria asked her mate in a quiet voice.  
Arrow sighed and shook his head. "Yes, Maria. I do. Because that is exactly how Bolt's brother thinks."  



	2. Volt's Lair

**~Chapter 2~**

His lair was dark, black and gray walls, floors, and ceilings. Not many windows were planted in the entire building, the only light was from dim, yellow light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Screens were set up seemingly at random in half open rooms, showing almost the exact footage of the Bolt TV series as had been showing in Arrow's building.

A dark black dog sat at one of the screens in a dark and damp room, scowling into it. On the screen showed a black cat, the main cat who was normally always perched on the shoulder's of Dr. Calico - the actor, of course - who was likewise scowling.

"What do you think? He gets out, causes a fuss, and then just disappears off the radar," Fabio, the cat, growled. "Everyone seems to think he is around the studio. But he isn't."

"And where is he?" Volt prompted after a moment. "Are you going to leave me waiting, Fabio?"

"No, sir, I am not," Fabio straightened and looked behind him to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation. "Bolt, after falling unconscious into a box of little white fluffy packing thingies -"

"Packing peanuts?" Volt was clearly not amused, his black fur ruffling as he snorted.

"- he was shipped to New York."

An evil smile grew on his furry black face, a contented, gleeful smile. "Ah, perfect. Just perfect, Fabio. Then you have succeeded in your most current mission. Excellent job. And are you positive that he won't find his way back? Or, at least before we hatch our plan in full effect?"

"Absolutely, sir," Fabio smiled as well, relieved that Volt was not upset at him. "But we do have the bleak chance that Arrow and his gang could find him, somehow approach him or get him to trust them, and make it back together. But that is highly unlikely."

Volt regarded the cat closely, as close as he could through the large, bright screen, noting Fabio's instant frightened face. It disappeared quicker than a blink. "How unlikely? How unlikely would it be that Arrow finds him?"

"Um . . ." His face scrunched up, obviously calculating the odds. "Well . . . I wouldn't guess that Arrow could find him, seeing as how he is so far from the S.S.A.O.N.A base . . . and of course Bolt wouldn't trust him, or anybody after being locked up in an imaginary world. So, uh, very unlikely."

"I see," Volt sighed. "Alright, Fabio. I am forced to trust you. But I also want a Pack sent off to find Bolt and to make sure he _does not make it home alive_."

"Yes, sir, Volt."

"And get ready; I expect they will be getting the new series together rather quickly so they don't lose any viewers," Volt looked passed Fabio, seeing the set behind him and the empty trailer. "I will be making my arrival as soon as possible, after I meet with my undercover agent 02."

"Yes, sir."

With that, the screen went as black as the room, and as black as the dog himself. He chuckled deeply, then took a deeo breath. "Brother, after five long years, my true life will finally begin."

"There . . . has . . . got to be . . . a way . . . out!" Bolt barked from inside the tight box. Having fully come awake only a few minutes earlier to all the small packing peanuts crowding around him, Bolt was not quite sure what had happened. It was slowly coming back to him, but he was not giving it a chance. The only thing that he would let enter his mind were two thoughts: Get out, and rescue Penny.

Suddenly the box was opened and it tipped to the ground, sending the little pink things all over a slick floor, as well as Bolt. He quickly got to his feet and barked, noticing the man staring at him in surprise and amazement, and jumped out of an open window.

He landed on a trash bag in an alley, and sprang up. Running onto the street, he paused for a minute, looking around with wide eyes.

"Stay cool, Bolty." He said to himself. "You're cool, Bolty."

He ran onto the street dodging grumbling people who were annoyed at having to avoid the speeding dog. Bolt looked into each of their faces, searching for his Person. None of them looked familiar at all.

Carter sat at the large computer embedded in the wall, low enough for him to to reach it. Skimming over the content, he pulled up surveillance cameras showing yesterday's footage. Watching them intensly, he skipped ahead and then watched some more. All eight on screen in small squares turned black, then showed red text that said DELAYED. Grumbling, Carter skipped ahead forty minutes.

"Obviously a work done by the sinister Volt," Carter said in a fake, too-deep voice, trying very hard to sound heroic. "Our Hollywood files have been hacked!" He whipped around and started to run out the door, colliding with Rain.

"Whoa, slow down, Carter," Rain smiled and got up, as did the Dalmatian. "What's your hurry?"

"I have just deduced that Volt was able to hack into our computer systems yesterday at 3:07 PM, and managed to keep them blocked until 3:52 PM." Carter nearly choked, and decided that it was better to talk in his normal voice again. "I need to go tell Arrow this urgent news."

"Buddy, I think we already figured that out," Rain winked at him and walked over to the computer. Swishing away the footage, he pulled up a top secret file. It showed a quite blurry picture of humans on a busy street.

Carter had to squint to make everything out. "Um . . . okay? People and . . . um, more people?"

"Yes, people, but look closely," The stormy colored dog zoomed in the picture with his paws and pointed at a the dim outline of a white ball of fuzz, racing through the legs of the humans. Carter's mouth dropped open as the realization hit him like a sledgehammer. Rain nodded his head to the dog. "Mysterious white dog, spotted in New York City an hour ago by one of our main dogs up in the Big Apple."

"Have you told Arrow? And Maria? And Sypher? And -"

"Yes, Carter, you are my last stop." Rain smiled at the second-in-command dog, zooming out of the picture. "And that is why we are making an emergency trip across the country."


	3. Slow Progress

**~Chapter 3~**

"Ugh, pidgeons are useless," Bolt grumbled, pacing. "I need someone on the inside, someone who knows the green-eyed man . . . a cat." He brightened.

"A cat?" One of the annoying pidgeons asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes, a cat." the dog answered reasonably. "Oh oh oh, when I find him. Oh oh oh, when I find that cat I'm going to make him wish he was never born!"

"Oh," the leader of the three pidgeons looked slyly at his friends, then back at Bolt. "I think we know just the cat."

Unbeknownest to all of them, a brown dog with folded ears was watching secretly from behind a building. He watched as Bolt followed the birds to wherever the destination was that the pidgeons were taking the dog. He nodded to himself and ducked away, disappearing down the street.

"Ugh, are we almost there yet?" Carter complained, trudging along behind the Cattle Dog. "We've been walking for hours!"

"It has only been thirty minutes, dog," said a brown and tan dog, a smooth collie. He was none to happy about going on a trip such as this for some random dog, though he knew that Bolt was no average, everyday hound. "Geez, I will never guess why Arrow chose you to be second-in-command."

"Because I am awesome," Carter smiled and bounded up to their leader, who was walking side by side with Rain, talking. "Arrow," he interrupted, butting in. "tell Bing that I am your favorite and I deserve to be second-in-command!"

Arrow looked back over his shoulder. "Seriously, y'all can't get along for one single trip, can you?"

"Wouldn't it have been easier if he stayed behind to do all that electronical stuff?" Bing huffed, glancing across at the open plain, so very different from the highly populated area of California. "And why did _I_ have to come?"

Sypher decided to answer this one. "You are the only medical assitance we have, Bing. No other dog has as much experience as you do in your field, so naturally we brought you along."

The smooth collie sighed, now glaring at the shining sun, then down at the watch-like gadget around his front paw - one of the S.S.A.O.N.A's inventions, the paw-cam. With it, you could contact any other member from the Secret Spy Animals of North America, so long as they also had on one. All the dogs in this group did, therefore they could communicate to each other if seperated.

"Ugh, I am soooo tired!" Carter wailed, walking even slower, panting as if he was dying. "And I want water! And a bed! Soft, with fuzzy, cool lining and a sweet rosy smell in there air."

Rain looked back at the Dalmatian. "You can't be talking about Headquarters. You sleep on the floor, or if you are outside, on the grass. And it is mainly hot and stuffy in there, with a bunch of dog sweat thrown in to boot. If it starts raining, then you also have wet dog smell, and it is none to sweet and rosy."

Arrow chuckled. "Don't worry, Carter. We will be stopping at the next nearest town and will stay the night with another S.S.A.O.N.A lookout pack."

"And how far until we get there?" Carter said, a new hope in his voice. "Maybe thirty more minutes?"

"I would guess that around sun down we should reach it." Sypher predicted, smiling to himself. "We aren't even out of the state, Carter, so get prepared for more relentless heat and maybe even some unexpected attacks."

"Are we expecting any attacks from Volt?" Rain asked, slowing down to match Sypher's walk. "If we were, I thought we would need more dogs. Yes, we sent notice to the packs in New York, and through several other states, and they can always be here to help, but we are outnumbered by far."

The Shepherd leading them sighed. "We have to hope that we come across no one of his society. We couldn't spare any more members back at Headquarters, not even Maria or Angel."

They were all silent for a few minutes, no noise came from them except the sound of Carter's heavy breathing and their paws hitting the dusty ground.

"May I inquire why _we_ are going?" Rain questioned. "You are the leader of the entire S.S.A.O.N.A throughout the whole country. Yes, it is our job to protect Bolt, but why not just send the other packs to find him and get him back safely?"

"Because we don't know how Bolt will react if a random pack of dogs came up to him and just told him to follow them," said Sypher. "He isn't used to any other kinds of animal interraction than those pitiful cats on the TV set. And -" he paused to grin playfully. "I happen to be very pursausive and friendly when it comes to these things."

"Ah, I see," Rain rolled his eyes, and they continued their long walk.

A brown dog with folded ears sat next to another brown dog with black streaks in her fur. They were inside some hidden, secret chamber, staring at a computer screen hooked to the wall. It crackled to life and brought two other dogs into focus from another hideout across the country.

"Jacob, Reba," Arrow nodded in greeting through the screen, as well as Sypher sitting next to him. "We have finally reached it to a hideout near the end line of the state."

Reba smiled. "That is wonderful, sir. We have all been worried that Volt and his group would try to track y'all down and take advantage of you when there were only five of you."

"Not for the time being," Sypher answered, glancing toward the side. Someone walked into view next to him a second later - Rain. "We made if safely, but rather a bit late. We need an early start tomorrow."

"Has your group found anything, Jacob?" Arrow asked.

"Yes, sir, we have. And if our connection wasn't so bad earlier we would have contacted you immediately." Jacob twitching his ear. "Myself and a couple of agents went out looking for him in New York City and we found him talking to a couple of bird-brained pidgeons." He smiled at his pun, but continued. "We followed him and then he just seemed to disappear. I still have scouts looking for him now."

Arrow nodded his head. "Why would he be following city birds?" Rain said, cocking his head.

"We have no clue." Reba shook her head.


	4. Cats, Maps, and Fur Colorings

**Authors note: Big thanks to the two people who commented on my story! I am truly surprised to find that anyone would like it, asides from my BFF. I promise to explain anything that has not been explained; some things are unveiled later on in the story. Hehe. As for the one comment that said that they needed more - here you go! (Sorry I did not post last night: my Mom and I were at the store.)**

 **~Chapter 4~**

He held the black cat by the scruff of her neck, dangling her over a highway bridge. Underneath that bridge were zooming cars, passing under then with extreme speed.

"You're crazy man!" The cat yelled at Bolt, struggling to grasp anything she could that would keep her up.

Above the two animals, three pidgeons sat. One of them leaned closer to the other.

"Hey, Joey, do you think we went to far on this?"

"How on earth do you expect me to walk any farther?" Carter complained for the three hundredth time, it felt like to his companion. "This is going to be the death of me!"

"Shut up, Carter." Rain said with a grin as they continued walking down the hallways of the S.S.A.O.N.A building. The one that they were in rested on the state line between California and Nevada. It was built underground, with tiles floors and better lights. An improvement from the main Headquarters, the one that both Rain and Carter worked in.

Except this place didn't have all the technology that was needed, and was not as close to Hollywood. Obviously.

Carter and Rain turned into a room and saw Arrow, Sypher, and Coco, a co-leader for the state line's pack. They had a printed map lying on the floor, pointing to different locations with their paws. The two dogs came up next to them.

"So, what's the plan?" asked Rain, eyes darting over the map and all the points that the leaders had marked down. New York, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California. Only eight states. "I don't get it."

Sypher turned and looked at him, then back at the map. "We are only marking the states that Volt has agents in. Well, as far as we know."

After a few seconds of staring at the map, Carter grunted and put his paw down on a state, creating a mark with his paw nail. He lifted it up and looked immensly pleased - the state was Montana.

"What?" Coco said, cocking her brown and white head to the side. "Volt now has agents in Montana? Why weren't we informed of this?"

Arrow sighed. "Carter, she doesn't count."

"Yeah, that dog does," his lips rose up in a snarl. "She is most certainly a member of Volts."

"Carter, just because she declined your invitation to leave her owner's to join us, it does not make her evil."

"Yes it does." the Dalmatian turned around and sat down, turning his back on the dogs.

"Carter, stop acting like you're a pup," Arrow said and turned to Coco. "Never mind, just something that happened to him three years ago. The dog ended up moving in the end."

"Oh."

Suddenly, Carter jumped up and barked, "Don't you dare scare me like that!"

"I didn't scare you purposefully." Bing said, entering the room with another dog. Scowling. "And besides, you had your eyes closed. It is perfectly easy for someone to scare you with your eyes closed."

"Oh. Right." Carter smiled and wagged his tail. "What's up?"

Bing ignored him. "Arrow, Angel contacted us and is needing to talk to you through screens. Room D7, hall 2P."

"Thank you, Bing." Arrow nodded at Coco. "Will you accompany me, Coco? I am not quite sure how to access the screens without passcodes."

Coco smiled. "Exactly, because we keep switching them."

"Sir, we are requesting permission to send out pack number 00945 . . ." the voice trailed off for a moment. "Um . . . I believe those last three numbers are 338. Um, that pack stationed in Ohio. Run by Dingo. Yeah. We are requesting permission to send them to find the missing dog."

Volt sat at the audio speakers, no bigger than a large book. He considered this, listening also to the crackle of the device, the static. No noise came from the other side of the machine.

"Yes, I grant you permission." the black dog said, finally. "But make sure that they don't make their lives depend on finding him. My brother was raised on a set and knows absolutely nothing about anything in the harsh world. I hardly have a doubt that he will turn up dead on the streets."

"Uh, yes, sir." said the voice on the other side. "I will keep you in contact."

"Very well."

The sound of static and the other dog's voice fell away, as the connection ended on the other line. Volt clicked a button on his side and the small machine turned off completely. The dog stood up and walked to one of the only windows in the entire building, looking out across the bright city. Some people saw only the brightness, the shining lights of ads and neon signs. What Volt saw, looking out upon the city? The darkness in every alleyway, where no light could reach. He saw the dark buildings, the ones abandoned with no light whatsoever.

That was almost exactly like the building Volt stood in; abandoned and black. To anyone who saw it, they would have assumed no one lived inside, nothing went on in this seemingly unsturdy building. But he knew that right now there were over one hundred and fifty dogs running around below him and on the floors above. It was anything but empty, and light was made through LED lights scattered in the halls and bright screens that shone with pictures of agents all around.

No, it was not empty or abandoned at all. And after Volt hatched his plan, it would be crawling with more dogs and secret agents than ever.

A gorgeous German Shepherd sat at the screen at S.S.A.O.N.A Headquarters, stationed outside of Hollywood. She was brown and tan, and had a white splotch almost in the shape of a heart on around her left eye. Her name was Angel.

Arrow was right there, on the screen she was staring intently at. She glanced at another screen, then back. "It says he met with another dog, some dog that we haven't heard of. He calls himself Smoky, and he says his occupation is body dyeing."

"And there is proof that Volt met up with him, in a Hollywood district?" Arrow asked through the screen. Coco cocked her head.

"Yes, sir." Angel answered, swiping at the screen with her paw. She made Arrow and Coco's picture half the size and pulled up a file with the half of the screen she had left. "They met a few hours ago, and then he just left."

"Who? Volt or the dog who is going to die?" Coco asked, thoroughly confused.

"No, no, he changes the colors of dog's fur with some kind of machine." Angel clarified, giving the brown dog an apologetic look. "And Volt left, to go back to his lair."

Arrow was quiet for a long moment of silence, contemplating everything she had just said. _Why would Volt need to go see a dog that does that kind of work? What could he be planning this time, and why would he need a different color of coat?_ To Arrow, black suited the dog's color, showing just how evil was.

"Thank you, Angel." Arrow nodded his head. "I will talk to Carter and Sypher about this, and will get back to you with any ideas we can conjuer. Any more news?"

"No, sir, I believe that will be all." Angel cleared the files and made the two dogs picture to fit the screen again. "I will contact you immediately if anything changes, or if Bolt is spotted."

"Thank you," Arrow said, looking behind him to where Rain just walked in the door. "We will be leaving shortly to continue on traveling. You can reach us by way of paw-cam."

"Thank you, Arrow." And with that, the German Shepherd clicked the END CALL SYSTEM button and watched the screen go black. Black, save for a blue paw with a gray lightning strike through the center of it with lighter gray circles on all four paw nail pads. The S.S.A.O.N.A symbol.

She sighed and left the room,walking down the dusty wood hallways. The lights strung on the ceiling cast a yellowish light that was almost unseeable since the windows let in lots of light. She looked at the floor, watching as she put one paw in front of the other. A million thoughts were going through her head, but one really stuck out: _What if we don't get to Bolt in time? What if Volt is out there, searching for Bolt, too?_


	5. A V with a Circle Around It

**Authors Note: Oh, dog, I am so very sorry for not posting yesterday or the day before! I was trying to finish this last night when my BFF called and we talked for a few hours. And then I had to take the dog out and it was already 12:30. Sorry guys! Promise to work faster and harder! (If I don't get this done by November, we will have some serious problems. NaNoWriMo. :D)**

 **~Chapter 5~**

"Hmm. Padlocked." The white dog stretched out his legs and widened his eyes, staring at the lock on the back of the U-Haul truck.

The cat on the other side of the leash tugged, pulled, and tried anything else that she could to get out of the tied leash around her tiny waist. "Ugh!" She ran as far as the leash would allow her and then was jolted back, landing on her back. She sprung up and ran over to Bolt. "Listen, cujo. I got some pretty wicked claws in here. Do not - I beg of you - don't make me bring out these bad boys!"

After a moment, "It gets ugly." She stopped and looked curiously at the delusional dog that had tied her to him and dragged him over here. He was staring at the back of the truck like his eyes wouldn't close. "What are you doing?" She moved to stand in front of him.

"Stay back!" Bolt warned, barely moving his head. "If I stare at the lock really hard it will burst into flames and melt."

Mittens stared at him with her jaw gaping open. "Now I'm concerned on a number of levels."

At the same time they both heard grunting and talking from close by, coming from inside the building right next to the street. "Oh, no. Intruders!" Bolt barked, then started running down the street, not giving Mittens enough time to get going. She was skidding behind Bolt, attached to the leash.

"Slow down! You're scraping the fur off my -" Her complaints were cut off as soon as she hit the mailbox, falling unconscious on the concrete. Bolt continued to drag her under the mailbox, then studied the two men coming out of the building.

Across the street was a Golden Retriever, concentrating on what on earth the white dog was doing. Shrugging, she started to walk forward to the dog and the seemingly dead cat (she hoped it truly was not dead, but this is what it seemed to her). A strand of rope was tied around her front paw with a keychain attached to it. On the keychain was the letter _V_ with a circle around it.

She stopped just as she saw the white dog grabbed something from the ground - small, copper colored, round - and flicked it toward the chubby human now sitting on the couch, waiting for his partner.

The Retreiver - her name was Tika - looked confused, and decided to, instead of jumping in and convincing the dog to come with her like Master Volt told her to, watch. Tika watched as the man bent down upon seeing the small object, and held it in his hands.

"Hey," he said with a smile. "Lucky penny!"

A man in a black shirt came out from the building and snatched the coin as the man on the couch tossed it into the air. "Thanks! Now move your butt."

Tika shook her head. _Humans are so dumb._

She turned her attention back to Bolt and the black cat he must have picked up along the way, and gasped in surprise. They were gone.

It was plenty well dark when Arrow and his tired gang finally made it to Las Vegas, Nevada. The bright lights of the city could be seen from far away, and to Carter it was a very welcoming sight. Because he knew what they would be doing at this city, provided they could find the right location; they would be spending the night at an S.S.A.O.N.A Pack Building. This thought alone was enough to keep Carter rambling excitedly about everything that had happened that day.

"Carter, would you kindly shut up?" Sypher asked, for he too was tired from the day's trek and did not feel like hearing the dog's constant chatter. "Arrow and I are trying to figure out where the Pack location is, and you're noise is not helping."

Carter snapped his jaws shut and wagged his tail. "Surely, Sir Sypher!" Carter's smile was illuminated by the neon signs of the city. They were just on the outskirts and it was already louder and brighter than they imagined. "This is going to be so totally awesome!"

Bing sighed. He was the only one not interested or excited in any way, but this was expected behavior from him. He walked slower than the rest of them, not joining in on any of their conversations or questions as to where the Pack base was.

In his mind, he was asking himself questions that had been bothering him, hoping to find answers. _Won't Volt notice that Arrow is away from the Headquarters? Won't Volt know that he is out searching for Bolt? Won't Volt want to use this as an oppurtunity, to jump attack us and possibly eliminate Arrow from the problem?_ Bing shook his head disgustedly. _Volt probably would get one of his dogs to kill us of, knowing him. He wouldn't want to be bothered._

Deep in thought, Bing did not see that the others had stopped up ahead of him, and he nearly bumped into Carter. "Whoa, guys, what are we -" He cut himself off as he looked at what they were staring at.

It was a dog, standing across the empty alleyway they had traveled in, staring at them with blue eyes. He had an blank expression, but was watching them very carefully. He blocked the way out of the other side of the alley.

"It could be just a street dog," Rain whispered, standing next to Sypher and Arrow. "It doesn't seem to be one of Volt's."

"Or it could be one of Volt's waiting to kill us," Sypher said back, taking a cautious step backward.

"Either or."

The dog walked forward, some light from the streets illuminating something tied around his paw. It was a charm-like thing with a _V_ and a circle around it.


	6. Fight In The Alleyway

**~Chapter 6~**

"So, if you got super powers I guess that makes you - what? - like some kind of super hero?" Mittens asked from behind the green couch in the moving van. She picked up a trophy, tapped it on her paws, then tossed it back in the box. No good weapon in any of these boxes.

"That information is classified."

Arrow took a step backward as well, looking back at his companions once to make sure they were all there.

"Ah, so I finally have the wonderful chance to meet the highly spoken of, leader of the renowned S.S.A.O.N.A, Arrow." The dog said in a low, deep voice. "We have heard so much about you, from Volt's musings." He squinted, looking at them through slitted eyes. "You look nothing like either brother, though. Perhaps they got it from their mother instead."

"What do you want?" Arrow growled.

The dog considered this for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Hmm. Good question. What do I want? Let me think about that."

"We don't have time for this." Sypher muttered under his breath.

"Oh, I know now!" The dog said, smiling. "I came here to give y'all a little message from Master Volt. And this is the kind of message where words . . . just can't describe his feelings toward his mislead father and friends."

"He is the one who is mislead, dog," said Arrow. "And I don't think this is a fair fight; one against five just doesn't add up."

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you to my companions."

Out of the shadows came four more dogs, making it even. Although Arrow knew that they had more of an advantage; he had Carter, who was no genius when it came to fighting. He was pretty much only useful with anything electronical.

"So, Arrow. I was also informed to give you an option, before we just make a scene here in this lovely, sweet, innocent little city," The leader of the dogs said. "And these are your options; be killed by us, or surrender and aid our search for Volt's oh-so-powerful little brother."

Arrow glanced uncertainly at his friends, not wanting them to get hurt, not wanting to give up after fighting years just to protect Bolt. He finally nodded at Sypher, who stepped forward with a raised tail and ears.

"You know we would never do such a thing," Sypher peeled his lips and snarled. "We won't give up until we find Bolt and make sure get him back to his owner safely."

"And you think he will be safe then?" He chuckled. "Oh well, old man. It was your choice. Dingo, Brit, Rufus, Challo - get the others. I want to have the honor of killing the honorable Arrow."

The other dogs nodded. Arrow knew it was useless to run because they were much quicker. Probably knew the streets better.

In a blink of an eye, Volt's minions were springing at full force toward them. One smacked into Carter and sent him skittering away, yelping though he was not hurt. Another grabbed Sypher with his teeth and dug deeper, but Sypher was ready for it. He twisted to the right angle and pushed the dog away with his hind legs, jumping up and ignoring the line of blood dripping down his shoulder. Rain got the dog named Dingo, he could easily tell from the way the dog fought. But Rain had trained under Sypher, and Sypher was the best fighter in the whole agency. Dingo circled, then made a fake jump, then moved back. Rain did not wait for the other dog to make his next move, he lunged at him and swung his head, hitting the dog in the side. Bing, trained to heal animals, not hurt them, was struggling to get unpinned from the dog on him. Suddenly the dog on him was off. Bing got up and saw Sypher smiling at him.

"Looked like you needed a paw."

"I did, thanks."

Carter was jumping up and down against the wall of the alleyway, trying to get away from the dog that was attacking him. It was actually a pretty good strategy, considering Carter knew nothing about it. But it was not good enough. The dog caught Carter's leg and pulled him onto the ground. Arrow jumped on the dog and tossed him away, looking down at Carter.

"You okay?" Arrow asked, concern filling his face.

"Um . . ." Carter considered this question. "Sure. Thanks. Let's go eat some dinner."

"Later, Carter, later."

The leader of Volt's pack sprung for Arrow, knocking him to the ground. Sypher tried to help, but another dog renewed their attack and pounced on him. Bing was not of much help, trying to convince Carter that he was most certainly not dying, while avoiding getting hit by any dogs. Rain struggled to get up from a dog that was holding him down, trying to get at his throat. All of Arrow's group were losing, and it was obvious.

"I knew that it was all lies about you, Arrow," The dog who was on the Shepherd said deeply, an evil grin on his face. He was panting in excitement. "Volt doesn't know just how weak you are. Wait until I tell him how your life ended, you and all your little buddies here."

"Too bad that won't be happening," said a voice from the front of the alleyway. All the dogs whipped their heads around to see a Border Collie . . . and a group of three strong looking dogs with her. "Rike, you get off of him before I dig my jaw into your neck!"

Rike growled, but backed off of Arrow. He nodded at his fellow mutts and they jumped away too, walking backward toward the exit of the alley. "You're going to regret this, Maya."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Now scram!"

They turned their tails and ran away. With a nod from Maya, the three dogs chased after them, growling and barking.

Arrow got up and walked over to Maya. "Thank you so much. I don't believe we could've survived that."

"Anything, Arrow," Her eyes sparkled. "It was about time I repayed you for what you did to help me. What you do constantly for all of us. And together - all of us S.S.A.O.N.A members in thr country - will defeat Volt and find Bolt!"

"I am glad you are so optomistic." Bing grumbled, walking away from Carter, who was moaning on the ground. Being way too dramatic. "If we continue to have run ins like this, we will never make to New York."

"Have faith, Bing." Sypher chuckled, coming up beside them with Carter following. "We will succeed in all of our missions."

"You're bleeding," Bing said flatly. "Let me take a look at you . . ."

Sypher shook his head. "No, not now. When we get safely to the Pack site, then you can. Let's just get going before something else stops us."

Maya smiled. "It's this way. Come on." She turned and they started following her.

After a few steps, Sypher looked behind him. Rain was staring at the exit of the alleyway, staring at where the dogs left. "Come on, Rain, or you're going to get lost!"

Rain turned around after a second and trotted over. "Did you see Volt's agents? They're . . . they're . . ."

"Evil." Sypher offered.

"No, no. I mean, yes, but . . ." Rain paused, then whispered almost to himself. "They're amazing."


	7. Disappearing Dog

**Authors Note (Once Again): Thanks to all who have commented, especially those with suggestions and ones saying that they need more. One of the comments suggested I put Penny in somewhere, which I think is a fabulous idea. As for what else you said, I could only decipher part of the comment. Must be spellecheck - that thing is impossible to live with. Thanks guys!**

 **~Chapter 7~**

With her Mom driving, Penny sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window as houses went by. She saw prettily colored fences, flowerbeds with blooms, green grass. It was so peaceful here.

 _Wouldn't it be nice to live with Bolt here?_ She thought, then quickly erased the thought from her head. _First we just have to find him._

Driving around looking for the white dog didn't seem to be helping, but neither did standing on the sidewalk, asking people if they had seen him. He seemed to just have disappeared, vanished, gone missing. He had been for several days now, and it was almost unbearable.

All the producers and filmers, stunt people and directors had been pushing her to spend less time searching and more time discussing the show. They wanted her to continue as though nothing happened, as if losing Bolt was just an everyday thing that she could just live with. But Penny wouldn't . . . she couldn't. Bolt was here life. She just could not get all of them to understand.

"Mom, do you think this - us searching - is hopeless?" Penny asked suddenly. "I mean, maybe we _should_ just quit. Maybe we're wasting our time looking for him. Maybe he will just come back."

"Well . . ." Penny's mother began, glanced at her daughter then back at the road. "I wouldn't say that it is entirely usless, but we don't seem to be getting anywhere. What do you feel is right? Do you want to stop looking and just wait?"

Penny considered this for only a second before shaking her head. "No. I want to find my dog."

The U-Haul truck pulled up late-evening at a motel, the lights on the sign dull and flickering. Two older-teenage men got out and complained about being in the car all day long with no respite.

The motel seemed to be in the middle of a wilderness, which was truly just a rundown, extremely small town.

The only thing watching them was a dog, behind the brick building, watching them as they stumbled inside to get a room for the night. As soon as they were gone, the red and gray furred dog jumped out of his hiding spot and ran toward the truck.

Glancing once behind him to make sure no one was near, he ran to the back. Looking at the door, he cocked his head. The lock was undone, but the door was not pulled open. No bother for him, because he just grabbed it in his teeth and yanked upward.

He was expecting to find a dog, a white dog and a black cat whom he seemed to have picked up along the way. He was met with a couch and boxes behind it, little pink packing peanuts scattered all around. No dog or cat was in there.

He scowled, then brought his front paw up. On it was a paw-cam. "Screen, on." It flickered to life, glowing bright against the darkening evening. "Contact S.S.A.O.N.A Headquarters, Hollywood, California."

It only took a second before the link was established and a pretty Shepherd dog stared back at him through her screen - Arrow's mate, Maria.

"Maria, it's Dash." He said. "I have got some news on the search for Bolt."

"And?" Maria looked hopeful, just as Angel came into the room. "Did you find him?"

"No, ma'am. We haven't," Dash looked around again. "The truck he was traveling in is pronounced empty. No sign of any dog or cat inside."

Maria's face fell. "Oh. Thank you, Dash."

"Absolutely, ma'am. I will send some dogs out to search the roads and the forests," Dash said. "Don't worry. We will do anything we can to find him."

"Thank you, Dash." Maria said, and the screen went black.

"Who knew this dog could be so infuriating?" Dash mumbled to himself, walking away from the truck without closing the back. "For someone who knows nothing of survival and escape, he sure is good at disappearing."

"He was traveling with a cat?" Sypher asked as if this was unbelievable. "A _cat_?!"

"That is what Maria said," Arrow just smiled. "Apparently he doesn't know the boundries between cats and dogs."

"I thought it was a natural instinct," Rain said. "I thought any dog would know you aren't supposed to play nice with kitties."

"Who said the dog couldn't add a little feline friend?" Arrow asked.

"Nobody," Bing said, walking into the room and over to the Cattle Dog. "He wants to defy the force of nature and spend time with a dog's enemy, go ahead! Couldn't be any worse, could it?"

"The important thing," Arrow ignored Bing. "Is that Bolt is trying to get home, and that he is getting closer and closer to us."

"And we're only in Nevada!" Carter barked happily. They were finally able to rest in their own room, and Maya would come for them soon to discuss the trip and Volt. "So maybe we could just go home and wait for him to get there!"

Bing rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah. Great idea, genius." He cocked his eyebrow at Sypher. "Are you going to let me take a look at where the dog bit you?"

"No." Sypher said, smiling. "No, I don't think I will."

"Why?"

"Because I am perfectly fine, and don't need you're assitance."

Bing scowled. "Stubborn dog."

"Thank you." Sypher said, smiling.

"Didn't y'all tell me the reason I came along was so I could give you medical attention when you're injured?"

"Exactly." Sypher said with a fake-serious nod. "And I am not injured. The marks weren't even deep."

Bing rolled his eyes and sighed. "Deep enough to draw blood."

"Leave him alone, Bing," Arrow chuckled. "If he gets mad enough he could tear down this entire building, with the help of Rain, of course."

Rain wagged his tail. "I would be happy to assist you, Syph."

"Very well, Rain," said the Cattle Dog. "When I need you, I will call you. But I am pretty sure I can take down Bing in less than an instant. Wouldn't take much."

"Oh really?" Bing snorted.

"You get him, Sypher!" Carter cheered, instantly excited. "You go, dog!"

"Shut up, Carter." Bing snapped. "Fine. I won't bother you anymore, oh mighty fighter dog."

Bing walked to the other side of the room and layed down.

Sypher rolled his eyes. "Sometimes I regret bringing him."


	8. Run Over

**Author's Note: Guys, tonight I will be leaving for a road trip that will last the weekend. Dun dun dun! I might not be able to write much or any at all, because we will be busy with . . . stuff. Hehe. Sorry for the delay. ;D**

 **~Chapter 8~**

" . . . Am I missing anything, Rhino?" Bolt asked, looking at the hamster in the exercise ball by his side.

"Just the knowlege that every minute spent in your presence has become the next greatest moment in my life," Rhino looked sincere, then lost it completely and started rolling back and forth in excitement.

"No, no, no!" Mittens yowled, tugging on the blue leash that still attached her to the lunatic dog. "How do you say 'No way I'm doing this" in crazy?"

"Calm down, cat," said Bolt, glancing at the frantic creature. "You're with me."

"That's the problem!"

"Take a left here," Sypher said, nodding at the intersection. Cars sped by with surprising speed, for the speed limit was quite high on this road. "We should come to a fork in the road in about thirteen miles. We will take another left and then take a right a few miles after that. Then . . ."

"We have to walk _that_ far today?" Carter's jaw dropped open as he realized the distance. "Oh my dog, this is killing me! I am so going to die today!"

"Maybe we'll be lucky and you will," Bing grumbled, still trailing them.

"Honestly, is that all you two can do?" Rain said, scowling. "It's a nice day and it should be pretty easy to walk a couple of miles or so."

"Over thirteen." Carter corrected him, speeding up so he could walk side by side with Arrow. "Arrow, please tell me we won't be walking very long."

"Enjoy the morning," said the Shepherd as they walked on. "We still have a long way to go."

Carter looked disappointed, but soon got distracted by a hovering butterfly.

Sometimes cars would honk at the traveling group of dogs, but Arrow and the rest - except Carter, who occasionally would bark back at them - ignored it. They were in no town, but the highway was connected to Las Vegas and that was why cars were constantly going by.

"Hey, look, Daddy!" A girl cried, looking out of the van she was in and waving madly. "A puppy!"

The car passed as soon as it had come. Sypher chuckled. "I wonder which one of you she was directing that to."

"And you're not including yourself in there?" Arrow asked with fake suspicion.

"Well, I am about your age and we aren't the age to be mistaken for puppies," Sypher smiled. "So we can count us us, Arrow."

"It wasn't me," Rain shook his head from side to side. "I was standing behind Syph and I don't think any car going that fast could spot me without having eagle eyes."

"And I am no puppy!" Carter barked defiantly, wandering closer toward the road because the butterfly was leading him there.

"Carter, get away from the road," Arrow warned.

"That leaves you, Bing." Rain laughed. "And you missed your once in a lifetime oppurtunity to find a loving family. What a pity."

"I belong at the S.S.A.O.N.A, not snuggling with some human," Bing said, watching Carter closely as he started getting closer and closer to the road. "Humans are dumb creatures."

"What about Bolt's human?" Arrow asked.

"She is just as dumb," Bing trotted up, nearly walking at the pace the others were at. "If she weren't she would have taken that dog out of show biz the moment they started."

"It was a contract -" Sypher started, but then stopped immediatly. "Carter! Get out of the road!"

Carter stood nearly in the middle of the road, still playing with the winged insect. When he hear Sypher, he snapped his head down and frantically looked around. A car was headed straight for him, and when the driver saw him he started to honk loudly. Carter was paralized by fear, rooted to the spot.

Without a second thought or even a hesitation, Rain ran and leapt on the spotted Dalmatian, pushing him to the ground hard. The car sped by, as did many others.

"Rain! Carter!" Sypher barked, waiting for the right moment. As soon as there was a slight break in the vehicles, Sypher and Arrow ran and grabbed both dogs by their necks, dragging them onto the side of the road.

 **CLIFF HANGAR! EVIL ME!**


	9. Turning Back

**Author's Note (I am in love with this 'Author's Note' thingy!) : Sorry the last chapter was so short. Reason: I had to go pack for our little road trip. XP But here I am, living and breathing and still writing! Hehe. And so nobody else asks, I am a Miss. A girl. Hehe. Lol. Oh, and about Penny's clothing (I think. Not quite sure what you, the comment person, was asking, just because . . . well... many reaons. Sorry.), I am not sure what you are wanting, because there is something about army clothes or something . . . she wears what she normally wears in studios, or just jeans and a regular shirt. ;)**

 **~Chapter 9~**

"Mittens!" Bolt barked over the raging wind that rushed by on the train. "Mittens, take my paw! I'll save you!"

"No you won't!" She screeched back, clinging fiercly to the metal ladder. "You're not really a super hero -"

At that moment, the ladder fell and Mittens went with it, as did Bolt because he was still tied to her.

Back in Hollywood, Penny and her Mom were in the printing room, standing next to the machine. The machine spat out paper after paper of LOST DOG signs, with Bolt and Penny on the picture. The red-haired girl smiled as the thought that this plan might actually work.

Outside the room, a wiry man with white hair and glasses looked in through the door's window. Smiling a white-teeth smile, he burst into the room.

"Young lady, we have got some good news!" Penny's agent said, and Penny spun around. "It's Bolt! They found him!"

A man carrying a dog carrier stepped into the room and opened the door. A fluffy white furball shot out and started to run toward Penny. Penny leaned down and was just about to embrace the dog when the man pressed a clicker, and the dog turned around and sat.

Penny stared at him. "That is _not_ him!" She exclaimed, looking up and down at the dog.

"Oh, I believe it's him," said the agent. "I do." And he went on and told her some exaggerated lie-of-a-story, but the dog was not listening.

 _That stupid human could tell I wasn't Bolt, even after my agent went to the trouble of creating a potion to make me temporarily white!_ Volt thought, his mind raging. He kept his face the perfect picture of happiness, though, in case the dumb girl might want to keep him.

A business-dressed woman entered the room and was talking to Penny, something about letting Bolt go and moving on. Penny looked heartbroken, but she cancelled the printed posters before they were done. Everyone in that room except Penny and her mother looked relieved. They all walked out of the room, the trainor motioning for Volt to follow.

 _And after I had to take out the other dog that was going to play this part, what a pity._ Volt smiled because he did not find it sad at all. In fact, he had rather enjoyed it. _Don't worry, brother. I will be better than you ever were, and I will have your human all to myself. I will be the most loved and famous dog . . . in the universe._

"Carter! Rain!" Bing barked, running over to them. Arrow and Sypher stood over the two dogs.

Rain groaned, and slowly got to his feet. "I don't think I will ever be doing that again."

"The butterfly . . ." Carter said, still lying on the ground. "He . . . he got hit . . . and . . . he's gone."

Arrow smiled in relief, as did Sypher, but Bing merely gave a sigh. "I really thought y'all got hit." Bing said, taking deep breaths to calm down. "I thought I saw Rain's jaw get hit by the bumper."

"It wasn't more than a touch," Rain said. He grimaced as he spoke. A bruise that was almost as deep in color as his fur was on his bottem jaw. "I am really fine."

"The butterfly . . ." Carter still lay on the ground, no scrapes or scars or bruises on him. Of course not: it was Rain who had jumped on him. The Dalmatian suddenly growled. "That stinking thing! It led me to the road! Why, of all the inconsiderate things it could have done!"

"Okay, so you're obviously fine," said Bing, stepping closer to the mixed breed. "I do not want any contradiction this time! I am going to check that chin . . . jaw, thingy! Do not put up a fight or else I will - I don't know! Just . . . do what I say, Rain."

Rain sighed. "That is the most words you have said on this whole trip. And for that, I will let you look at it."

"Thank you," Bing smiled.

"But first, let's step away from the road, maybe?" Arrow suggested, looking uneasily at the vehicles. "I don't want anything like that to happen again."

All of them agreed and moved away. "Let's take a break from walking," Sypher said, nodded to the grassy land to the left. "We can rest there while Bing checks Rain out. Heaven knows how much rest Carter needs."

"Rest?" Carter jumped to his feet, instantly spurred with the vision of resting. "Oh dog, yes! Let's do it! Right behind you, Syph!"

...

"Ow!" Rain said and pulled back. "Bing! Don't touch it that hard!"

"I hardly even touched it," Bing said flatly.

"Well . . ." the dog rolled his eyes. "It still hurt."

"See, Bing?" Sypher said, laying in the brown tinted grass. "I told you that we would need you."

The sun was overhead, a sign that it was midday. The few trees that were around provided plenty enough shade so that the dogs weren't sweltering. Past the medium height grass was even taller grass and then a small, blue painted house.

"Oh, I am so hot!" Carter complained, sprawling out on the grass. "Somebody find me some water!"

"You always . . . find something . . . to complain about." Rain said, clenching his jaw against the pain, as Bing touched it with his paw.

"I know, it's so awesome, isn't it?" Carter smiled and rolled over. His mind was already wandering to another subject. "I wonder when Arrow is going to get back."

"I would say now." Sypher said as Arrow came from from the grass. "What's up, dog? Find any news or anything?"

"Directions," Arrow said, panting. "And if we had followed Maya's route, we would have been wandering in circles."

"Figures." Bing mumbled.

"Some dogs over at that house told me where we need to go and the safest possible route." Arrow looked down at his paw-cam, which had suddenly vibrated. An instant communication link from Headquarters. "Screen, accept international communication from Headquarters."

On the screen was Maria, Angel, and another dog, a gray sheepdog with wide eyes - Barry. "This is Arrow."

"Oh, Arrow!" Maria said, wagging her tail. "We tried reaching you earlier but you wouldn't answer."

"That was probably when he was saving two dogs," Bing said, loud enough so the dogs on screen could hear him. "They didn't have time to answer."

"Save dogs?" Angel looked as confused as the other two dogs. "What?"

"Nothing, just Carter's foolishness, Rain's bravery," Arrow shook his head and smiled. "What is it that is so important?"

"Oh right!" Barry's eyes got wider. "We have got some news on Volt!"

Arrow's smile vanished, just as a cloud covered the sun. Sypher got up and walked over to look into the mini screen on Arrow's raised paw. "What is it?"

Maria let out a deep breath. "Okay, so at the studios, the producers made Bolt's owner continue filming the show, even though she didn't want to. And they got a replacement dog and -"

"It's Volt, isn't it?" Sypher finished, looking grim.

"Yes!" Angel looked desperate.

"But how?" Rain asked, coming over. Bing had finally finished inspecting it and telling him to be caustious of what he did. "Volt is black! Not white! The role is a white dog!"

"Turns out Volt dyed his fur." Maria said, shaking her head. "Got someone to do it for him. A professional. Volt knocked out and kidnapped the dog was was truly playing Bolt's replacement, and now that dog is also in danger. We don't know what to do . . . we're trying to figure everything out and . . . Arrow, we don't know what to do. We have no clue what Volt intends to do now that he is there at the studios. And what if Bolt comes back? What would he do to him?" she let out a deep sigh.

Arrow looked to Sypher. Sypher knew that the leader did not know what to do, what choice to chose - go back to Hollywood or continue on the search for Bolt. Whatever he chose, the others would have to follow him because four dogs could not fend danger off alone. The Shepherd sighed and looked back at his mate, Angel, and Barry.

"We will . . ." Arrow sighed deeply. "We will come back there and help with everything, figure out a plan to stop Volt and whatever he has brewing."

"Are you sure?" Maria asked, though she seemed more relieved than she had a second ago. "It would mean stopping the Bolt mission."

"No, only temporarily delaying it." Arrow said, forcing a small smile. "We will be there within three to four days, provided we don't have any run-ins with Volt's agents."

"Thank you, Arrow," said Maria greatfully. "We will see you soon, then, and contact you if anything else pops up."

"Thanks, Maria," Arrow said. The screen went black except for the rotating blue paw with a lightning bolt through the center. He sighed again and put his paw back on the ground.

"Wait. So we're ditching this mission?" Bing said bluntly. "Just because Volt is taking over Bolt's job? But if we found Bolt, got him back there, wouldn't they accept him and toss out Volt?"

"Who knows what Volt would do before he could everyone reach the outskirts of the city?" Carter said sensibly. "He could _kill_ Bolt! The dog could be dead as the butterfly on that car!"

"Carter is correct," Sypher said, nodding his head. "And we can get groups of S.S.A.O.N.A packs together from all different states and search for Bolt. Or, since Bolt seems to be making his way his way across the country with a cat, they could help guide him."

"I agree," Arrow said. "So who is up to leaving now, before the sun gets to the burning point?"

All four dogs raised their noses. It was unanimous - they would be heading back now, to go back to Headquarter's.

 **Final Note: (For this chapter) I am posting two chapters in one day because I don't know how much time I will have tomorrow to write. Rats. I hope this is long enough because it feels long. And I am tired. Hehe.**


	10. Plans to Unleash

**Author's Note: Got home from my road trip late late LATE last night and I couldn't write anything earlier today because of school. XP Anyway . . . I had a blast, in case you were wondering. Hehe. I am also here to address an issue that might slow me down from writing this story; Nanowrimo. Ever heard of it? It is a book novel writing challenge where you have to write a novel in a month. My BFF and I are taking the challenge, and I am so busy multitasking between this story, a book I've been working on, and prepping for Nano. I might not be able to write as frequently. Sorry, guys. Army boots coming up! :D ;)**

 **~Chapter 10~**

"The real world hurts, doesn't it?" Mittens said from on a high tree branch, still attached by leash to the canine below her. "But you wouldn't know about that, now would you?"

"Get down here, cat! We don't have time for this."

"I'll go get a ladder," Rhino said coolly, excited by the daring adventure that had just taken place on the train.

"We are walking ALL the way back, and my feet are aching, and my throat feels dry, and I think I see a monster in front of us!" Carter spouted nonsense, but neither dog felt like stopping him.

The landscape was nothing but light brown and yellowish dirt and sand, some rare patches of dead grass, and lots of rocks. The few trees around were small and crippled, as if the heat had gotten to them and they had not been able to grow up.

The heat was relentless, no clouds in the sky, no shade from anywhere. Anywhere. And all the dogs were hot, too hot to care what Carter said. All of them had their tongues hanging out. It seemed that they were getting nowhere, that they had lost track of the route they planned on taking.

"We're lost," Carter gasped, plopping down on the hot ground and laying on his side. "We're lost and no one knows where we are! We will never make it back to HQ, and we will never get out of this eternal desert! We are LOST!"

"Shut up, Carter," Sypher said through ragged breaths. They had been walking for hours on end and heat was getting to the Cattle Dog. "We aren't lost . . . we're just . . . walking . . ."

"I am not getting up!" He stayed on the ground, panting and drooling. "Arrow, help me!"

"It won't help you if you lay down and get scorched on," said Arrow. "We won't get anywhere if we all just pass out on the ground. So get up, gather yourself, and get walking."

Carter sighed then groaned as he got to his paws. "But only because you said so, Arrow!"

Arrow managed a small smile and glanced over at Sypher, who was walking right next to him. Sypher looked his way but did not return the smile. Carter and Bing now walked at the same pace, bringing up the line, and Rain walked in the middle. Rain was the only one who didn't look like he was going to melt like a snow cone.

"Honestly, are we lost or not?" Carter asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Arrow stopped and turned around. "Yes, Carter, we are officially lost until otherwise noted." He started walking again, didn't see the exasperation on his friend's face.

"That's comforting," Bing mumbled, looking up at the bright sun. "As someone famous once said, _at least we will die together._ "

"Who said?" Carter questioned.

"Me, you kibble head." Bing said, but grinned. It faded in a few seconds.

"I think we should follow the direction of the sun," said Arrow. "When we traveled to go find Bolt, the sun was behind us for a good part of the trip. We should head in that direction." He nodded his head.

"Okay, so now we're walking straight into the sun," Carter groaned but continued walking. "And if we stop, we're going to be eaten by vultures! Eaten alive!"

"Creative, dog," Rain glanced at the Dalmatian. "Now let us hope that we won't be stuck out here forever."

The set was lit by lights that protruded from the high ceiling. Huge rock and clay statues of mythical animals and creatures stood all around, nearly reaching the top of the room. A large fire pit sat directly in the middle of the room, only the flames were not lit, no sparks were flying. Around the pit was a tall rock wall. And around the whole room were people, actors and directors, practicing the next episode in the hit TV series, BOLT.

Only this time they were not using the well-known, pet-actor-since-a-pup dog. They were using another dog that unbeknownest to them would like to demolish the entire world at the time. His reason? The plan was not going according to how they had meticulously planned it, and all because of some ridiculous girl.

Volt stood off the set a bit, watching as everyone held thick pieces of paper and reviewed their lines, waiting for his turn to enter on the to-be set up platform. He was scowling and trying not to tear up everything in sight, especially the humans. The plan was not working and this was more than a little disappointing.

A black cat, Fabio, strolled up to him and sat by the dog, twitching his tail and looking as calm as ever. "It'll be okay, Volt. Even if the girl doesn't like you as much as Bolt, at least the dog trainor does."

"And the only reason he does is because he finally has a job he can do," said Volt through clenched teeth. "With my brother, he could not get near him to train him. But of course I am different than Bolt."

Fabio chuckled. "Don't worry. The girl will have to love you after we unleash our plan."

The sound of cats screaming sounded from up above the two animals, both of them jerking their heads toward the speakers. All the people practicing on the set covered their ears and tried to block out the overly loud noise.

The main director, covering his ears, yelled over the cat noise, "Bill! Turn off the soundtrack! It's not time for it yet!"

And just as soon as the it had come, the sound stopped. Everyone unclasped their hands and brought them back to their sides. The director was angry, shouting at them to continue.

Volt and the black cat watched as Penny walked back to her place, wearing her favorite casual shoes that looked almost too big on her and looked like army boots. When she was not acting and wearing her red and black outfit, she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, normally a short sleeved one. Though the boots were big she still looked every bit as stylish in them.

"Of course she will have to like me," Volt said, finally breaking into a smile, one that hinted at all the evil inside of him. "Everyone will, after I save their precious Penny's life."

"If everything goes as planned," said Fabio, licking his lips.

Volt turned to look at him with a steel gaze. "What do you mean by that?"

Fabio's tail twitched more frequently now, as if suddenly nervous or unsettled. He took in a deep breath. "Well . . . we have reason to believe that Bolt is . . . um, well, finding his way here thanks to the help of a stray cat and a crazed rodent. And he is . . . uh, not very far. Our agents have not been able to track him or capture or kill him, and I fear he may - may being the key word - succeed in getting back to Hollywood."

"I see," Volt's expression had grown darker at every word the black cat had said. If his thoughts were colors he would have black fur again with no assitance of the fur dying specialist. "But we aren't going to let that happen, are we, Fabio?"

"N-no, sir, not at all!" Fabio hastened to say, caustiously taking a step back. "I will go send out some more agents to find him. Right now."

"Good idea." Volt said, then turned his attention back to the set, where it was almost his turn to act. He then whispered to himself, "Oh, they will all love me, that is for sure. And you, my brother, will be forgotten about. No one will go looking for a dead rag of white fur on the side of a road." And then he jumped up and ran in the direction of his trainor, for it was his turn to act.

"They need a hero, Bolt!" Rhino said, raising his voice. "Someone who, no matter what the odds, will do what's right! They need someone to tell them that sometimes the impossible can become possible if you're awesome!"

Bolt was surprised at how much the words stung, how much truth was behind every single word. He nodded his head. "You're right about one thing, Rhino. Mittens does need a hero. And it looks like I'm going to be the one to do it."

"That's honesty!" Rhino yelled, raising his tiny arms. "Now, who's going to save that cat?"

"Me."

"Who's going to save that cat?" the Hamster said again. "Who? Tell me who?!"

"Me!"

Rhino squealed with delight and excitement. "Hehehehee! I'll go get my ball."

The two animals nodded at each other. Rhino ran down the wood piece and together they made their way back to the road, oblivious of the two eyes watching them through the tall grass. The dog slowly got up and crept behind them, following them like a stalker.


	11. Explosions and Dogcatchers

**Author's Note : I forgot to put this in the first 10 chapters, so I am very sorry. I do not own Bolt - all rights belong to Disney's fabulous creators. The only things I own are the two societies and their dogs. And the scenes that weren't in the movie. Obviously. Anyway, thank you all so much for the wonderful comments! I hope you enjoy this next chapter because before long we will be getting into the ACTION. Like the intense action! Yea!**

 **~Chapter 11~**

Something long and tall soared through the calm air of the night and whizzed around the sky, then came downward and hit the neon PET RESCUE sign. The sign flickered before falling onto a truck, which exploded and sent flames all over the near empty parking lot.

A dog the color of sand was watching from some bushes nearby, though not to close to the sign to where he would have to move. He watched as three animals - a white dog, a black cat, a fat hamster in a ball - dove out the door and raced for the road, dodging the flames on the ground. He set his paw back on the ground and looked at the paw-cam. It had two words written in red : **VIDEO RECORDED.**

The dog smiled and started to follow the dog and his friends but then realized that they had disappeared down the road. Taking a deep breath he started to run after them, hoping to catch them before they got away again.

It was only a small town but the sight of it was welcoming for the exhausted group of five. Arrow knew that there were no S.S.A.O.N.A packs here, that they would have to find someplace unsafe to stay the night. It was towns like these that Volt's evil agents liked to hide in.

Carter was bouncing in place, despite his complaints on how tired he was not a few minutes ago. The houses all along one of the few roads they were traveling on were all painted over the original colors at least twice because you could easily see the paint peeling off into another layer. It was midday and the sun was still beating down on the dogs, but it was better knowing that they were closer to resting.

There were only a few people out at this time, and the ones who did happen to see the traveling animals looked at them with suspiscion and sometimes a little bit afraid, because who knew what diseases those filthy animals could carry?

"Well, it certainly is peaceful here," Rain said, looking around with curiousity. "This is quaint, quiet, calm. My kind of style."

"So your new style is calm and old looking?" Sypher smiled at Rain, who was walking right beside him. "I should have known."

"Where are we going to rest?" Bing asked, looking around. The trip was beginning to get a little easier now that they were going back to Headquarters. "I mean, unless we find a pack of stray dogs we won't be safe."

"That means we can't stay at dark," said Arrow. "We will have to leave at dusk."

"Fine with me, as long as we don't have to travel in the daytime!" Carter started running circles around the walking group. As he was doing this, he didn't realize that the pack of dogs had stopped walking and stared straight ahead. He just kept turning circles until he bumped into something . . . some _one._

Carter looked up at a man with a mustache just growing in, rough brown hair, muddy jeans and a red plaid shirt. He looked around his thirties, though maybe a tad bit younger. Carter gulped.

"Hey, there, li'l pup," the man reached down to pet him. "You and your friends looking for some place to call your own?"

Carter shook his head and tucked his tail. He glanced back at Arrow and the others to see the Shepherd step forward a step.

"Arrow," Carter whispered urgently. "Help!"

"It's okay, puppy," said the man as he bent down to get eye to eye with the frightened dog. "I won't hurt you."

"Yeah, and who can trust you?" Carter barked and leaped up suddenly, landing near Bing. The man jolted up in surprise and got up, shaking his own head.

"Alright, dogs," he smiled, despite Carter surprising him. "Y'all have a nice day."

He walked away with nary a glance back.

Sypher let out a relieved sigh. "Well, that was unexpected."

"I am sure some people aren't so nice to stray mutts as that guy was," Arrow cautioned, looking warily over the whole road. "We need to get going; we can't stay in one place to long."

"Why?" Carter asked as they continued at a slightly faster pace.

"Because Volt's dogs could find us, tell their other agents, and then easily trap us in the middle of nowhere. We would be dead before we could get a pack out here."

"Right," Carter said, nodding his head. "Keep moving."

"Keep moving, correct," Arrow said, smiling. "Is everyone prepared to take on the town?"

"The town, yes," Bing said, staring with wide eyes ahead of them. "The dogcatcher? Not really."

All of them swiveled their heads in the direction Bing was looking. A gray truck with a barking dog symbol on it was heading their way.

"Oh great!" Carter exclaimed. They all turned around and ran in the opposite direction, running down the streets, following Arrow.

"Let's cut across here!" Arrow barked in suggestion, turning onto someone's front lawn. "Make noise!"

They all headed in the direction of the door, barking as loud as they could. Just as the reached the old, paint-peeling front porch, the door swung open to a woman's surprised face. Without looking, all the dogs ran through her legs and into her house.

Rain cast a last minute glance at the outside, seeing a fat man in a red shirt hastily getting out of the truck. He whipped his head around and they ran through the house, jumped over a baby on the floor playing with wooden blocks, and at last saw the back door. It was closed but obviously nothing was going to stop them now.

Until a huge dog stepped in their way, snarling and growling. The fur on his back was sticking straight up stiff, his teeth were barred. He was a full grown Mastiff and he was not about to let anything get in his way.

Sypher took the lead and jumped over the dog, just barely getting over his back. Arrow and Rain did the same thing, and Bing and Carter ducked under his massive paws. The dog whirled around and charged after them just as Sypher managed to get the door open with his paws.

Six dogs went running through the back yard, five of them racing for their lives, one of them running to take all five of their lives.

"Get back here you scraggly mutts!"

Sypher, still in lead, calculated the height of the fence before calling over his back, "Clear the fence!"

It was easy for Sypher because agility, speed, and anything physical activity was his job. Rain had no trouble because he trained under Sypher and was prepared for stuff like this. Arrow was not quite like the two, but he made a good jump and got over the fence. Carter, who reached the fence before Bing, tried to jump the fence but did not succeed and pawed at the fence with wild eyes. Bing rolled his eyes and boosted the heavy dog up, tossing him over the fence before jumping over - just barely making it - himself.

As soon as they hit the other side of that wood fence, they turned and bolted down the street into an alleyway that was a dark shade of grey even in the daylight.

When they were sure that nobody had been following or was following, they all stopped to catch their breaths, doubling over in the attempt.

"Impressive." said a mysterious voice from the far side of the closed alley.


	12. Trusting Strays

**Author's Note : I am digging these cliff hangers. And I am back! Not that I was gone very long but . . . About the length of the chapters, I am sorry they are so short. I am stretched out across school, writing, dogs, and life. Sorry. Working hard to finish this by the next month! :D I am going to get weird with the dog breeds because my sister and I are working on memorizing dogs for a contest!**

 **~Chapter 12~**

"But what do dogs do?" Bolt asked, looking completely confused and totally defeated.

Mittens laughed softly. "Slobber, sleep, chase tails, chew shoes. You don't exactly need a masters degree." She looked around at the moving house they had jumped into. "You know, most dogs live in a place like this."

All five of them turned to the direction of the noise. Standing there in the shadows was a sleek Belgian Malinois, a smile on her face, obviously impressed like she had just said. She took a step torward them.

"Who are you?" Arrow asked.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself," she said in a gentle voice. "I am Shikira, just another stray dog in this small town. And you are?"

"I am Arrow, and these are my four partners" he gestured behind him at each one as he named them. "Sypher, Bing, Carter, and Rain."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Skikira said. "Are you traveling through town? Perhaps got lost?"

"We were lost in the dessert," Carter said, sitting down. "But I am not sure about now."

"No, I don't think we are lost," Arrow shook his head. "We are passing through, heading back to California."

"Wow," Skikira seemed surprised by this. "That is a few states away. Why that far?"

"Our home is back on the outskirts of Hollywood." Sypher replied, trying not to give out any hints about why they would travel this far from Headquarters. Who knew if this dog could be trusted, even if she seemed friendly?

"Got lost from your human?"

"In a way . . ." Arrow said, thinking of what to say next. He could tell that she did not think highly of people - but what stray would?

Rain caught on their plot and instantly started eleborating, stepping forward as he spoke. "Yeah, a few weeks ago on the 'family trip' we decided to go chase a couple of foxes, got lost in the woods, almost got killed by a porcupine and her kits. And now we're just making our way back to our people."

"Wow, you've been through a lot, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but there are five of us, so it is easier," Bing said casually, though he truly did not think that anything was ever safer with them around.

"That is good." She looked behind them. "I saw y'all jumping the fence. What were y'all running from?"

"A monster." Carter shook as he remembered the massive dog.

"No, it was just a large dog," Bing corrected. "And before that we were being pursued by a dogcatcher."

"Ah, him?" Skikira shrugged and laughed. "That ol' man couldn't catch a train he was scheduled to go on."

"Well, that is nice to know NOW." Bing grumbled.

"Bing," Arrow said sharply, making the dog stop speaking. "Well, thank you, Shikira. We really need to go find a safe place to stay -"

"Oh, it is perfectly safe here in this town," the Belgian dog said coming closer. "There are only a few strays in town and some pet dogs, but I know all of them. They are all friendly. And I know a good place to stay, it isn't very pretty but it would give you shelter."

Arrow looked hesitantly at Sypher, who was closest to him. Sypher waited a moment and then slowly nodded his head. "That would be wonderful, thank you. We will only be staying for the day."

"Alright, follow me, guys." Shikira trotted happily down the alleyway and onto the street, looking both ways as she did so. They followed her, running off down the streets of the quiet, calm town.

"It is just two roads away," she said, still leading them. "We're almost there."

"For such a small town, they sure have lots of streets." Carter said between gasps, as they had been running at a quick pace.

As they turned onto another street they saw a reddish furred dog strolling toward them as if he had expected them to come down this way. Shikira slowed and wagged her tail in greeting, obviously knowing the dog. Arrow looked at Carter and slowed down because the Dalmatian had a nervous look. A knowing look.

"Yo, Shikira," called the dog. "Where did you pick up a bunch of mutts?" He said this in a friendly tone, nothing meant to be taken personal.

"Found 'em after running away from Bedina," she laughed and stopped completely. "Mars, meet Arrow and his bunch - they got separated from their owners and are making their way back to California."

"Wow, long journey for y'all, isn't it?" Mars, the dog, said cocking his head. "Must be pretty important humans to take this long trek."

"Humans are humans," Sypher said calmly, though the fur on his back raised the second he understood Carter's expression. "But we all have our opinions."

"Right," Mars gave them a teasing look and opened his mouth, but Shikira interrupted him.

"You want to join us?" She seemed generally happy to have him there. "I'd be happy if you would. Do y'all mind?"

"Not at all," Rain shrugged.

"Thanks." Mars, still smiling though directing it mainly at Sypher, started walking with them.

It was not but a few minutes later when another dog, a small and yappy blond Chihuahua came running up to the group, barking his head off in annoying squeals and squeaks that could only be described as ear-piercing.

"Shi-shi-shikira!"

"Ugh," Shikira stopped and rolled her eyes. "What is it now, Jacques?"

"Oh my dog, Shikira!" Jacques bounced up and down on excited paws over and over, his words a rush to get them out. "The neighborhood cat is running through town and everyone is chasing her! You have to come and join! You, too, Mars!"

Shikira's face lit up when the dog had said 'neighborhood cat', and she suddenly looked eager. "Mars, you wouldn't mind if I go and chase her for a couple of minutes . . . would you? I mean, if you just take Arrow and his friends to the old shafts then I will be right along . . ."

"Absolutely, Shikira," Mars gestured with his paw down the street. "Be my guest. Arrow, y'all won't mind if I am the one to guide you, will you?"

"Not at all," Arrow replied with perfect conviction.

"Thank y'all, guys," Shikira smiled wider and started to run with Jacques the energetic fireball. "I'll see you later!"

As soon as she was gone on the next street, Mars turned and looked at them, still wearing a smile, though this one conceiling something devious and much less friendly before. "If you will just walk this way -"

"And possibly get ambushed by a couple of Volt's other thugs?" Sypher growled, flattening his ears against his head. "Is that what you are wanting us to do?"

"Ah, you must be the renowned Sypher," Mars chuckled. "All of Volt's Dark Dogs are warned of you - you must be really a threat and really good to earn that kind of reputation."

"Better than you'll ever be," Rain crouched low. They all took a step backward. "All of you are bound to land yourselves a one-way ticket to defeat."

"You overestimate yourselves, I am afraid."

"No, we just know that we are better than you," Arrow said in a simple voice, as if talking to a young pup.

"Oh really?" Mars raised his eyebrows in anticipation. "Would you like to test that?"

"You think it is a fair fight?" Bing snarled and likewise crouched. "One against five? You like those odds?"

"You think I don't have more dogs to come and help me?"

"I think you'll be dumb to try and call them," Arrow said, sending Sypher and Rain an almost unnoticable, silent signal.

Both dogs nodded and looked at each other, then back at the dog. In an instant, the two dogs leaped on Mars and pinned him down. Lots of snarling ensued, but Sypher managed a good grip on the dog's shoulder, keeping him down. Arrow stepped closer to the stunned mutt and leaned down.

"Do you like these odds?"


	13. Catching Up

**Author's Note : Yeah, cliff hangers. Sorry, people. I didn't want that chapter to end there, but I had to go do something and wasn't going to be able to work on it the rest of the night. Hey, but cliff hangers leave you coming back for more! :D**

 **~Chapter 13~**

Bolt yawned, exhausted from the day's trips of hopping on and off trucks, cars, or any other passing vehicle that was on the road home.

Mittens seemed dead set on teaching Bolt 'how to become a regular dog'. At first, he had seemed doubtful at it, after realizing that he did not have powers and that he had missed five years of . . . well, everything.

They were at a little park, nothing more than a couple of swing sets and a metal slide that, in the heat, would probably burn you real bad. Rhino was off investigating, looking for anything evil.

Bolt sighed and was just about to walk over to the cat - who was grooming herself - when a black lab appeared from nowhere and started wagging his tail, getting in the playing gesture on his front paws. Bolt, wide eyed from the dog's sudden appearance, looked to Mittens for help.

With a roll of her eyes, but a smile on her face, she repeated the dog's position, motioning Bolt to do the same. When Bolt did, the other dog jumped up and ran a few feet, then waited for him. Curiously, Bolt glanced back at Mittens. She tossed her paw in the direction of the other dog, making Bolt smile and cahse after black lab.

They played tag for many rounds until the dog's owner came to the edge of the playground. "Buddy, here boy!"

Buddy wagged his tail at his owner and started to leave, but stopped and looked back at Bolt. "That was fun. Good luck, pup." And then, without another word, he ran to his owner, his lady. The white dog wagged his own tail and headed back to Mittens, but heard what Buddy's owner said before she left.

"Who did you make friends with, Budster?" she cooed, opening the van door for him to jump in. "Are y'all going to play next time, puppy wuppy?"

Bolt walked back over to Mittens, joy all over his furry face. "That . . . was really fun."

"You looked like a natural out there, Wags," said Mittens, returning his giddy look. "Nobody would ever guess that you hadn't ever done that."

"Thanks, Mitts."

"I wonder where the little rodent went off to?" Mittens got up and they walked around, looking for Rhino.

Mars didn't answer them but growled instead.

"How many more of Volt's agents are here?" Arrow said, narrowing his eyes. "I know Volt never likes to leave his dogs in packs less than five. So there has to be more of you, somewhere."

"If there was," Mars said. "I wouldn't tell you."

Rain, who had been right by Sypher's side, growled as well. "You think so, dog?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Mars, looking smug even though he had a dog on top of him. "We have been trained to withstand questioning. Nothing you do will make me answer your questions."

"You're just a little feisty one, ain't you?" Arrow smiled and looked at Sypher with a shrug. "Well, you heard what he said, Syph. I allow you to do anything and everything to him in attempt to get the information."

"Yes, sir!" Sypher grinned at Mars, who had started to panick because he _knew_ that everything Volt had said about Arrow's top defense dog was true. That Sypher could do anything to him and it most likely would not end well for him.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Mars cried, struggling against the dog. "No, wait! I . . . I will tell you! Everything! Just - just don't hurt me!"

"That's what I thought." Sypher's grin disappeared and he faked disappointment. "Oh well, there is always next time."

"Hehe, yeah, ah he." Mars pretended to laugh, but rather sounded like a dying horse. "Good one."

Ignoring his last comment, Arrow bent down closer. "How many others are in this town, besides you? And how close is Volt to finding Bolt?"

"Th-there are eight others . . . besides me, in this town. We made camp at the shafts where Shikira was going t-to take you," the dog in front of Arrow's group was not the calm and charming dog that had talked to them when Shikira was present. This dog, right before them now, was obviously hiding secrets. Volt's secrets. "And . . . well, Shikira isn't one of us, and she doesn't know . . ."

"What about the last question?" Arrow cocked an eyebrow, sensing that there was something Mars wasn't telling them. "How close is Volt to finding Bolt?"

"Well, I mean, I really can't say, um . . ." Mars looked around as if trying to wish himself to be somewhere else. "I am not sure, Volt doesn't let us - as a really small pack - know that kind of information and well -"

At this point, Arrow got up, ignoring the dog's talk, sensing that this conversation was over. No matter what, Mars could not provide any useful information other than that there were other dogs here, Volt's dogs. They couldn't stay in this town, despite the tiredness of everyone.

"Sypher, let him up," Arrow said absently, thinking about many things at once. He looked only once at Mars again, just before the dog got up, and growled, "If you try and tell your other pals about us being here, you will certainly regret it. Now go!"

Mars sprinted away without a glance back, his tail tucked tightly.

"Arrow, we really need to go," Bing said, watching the dog run away. "He _will_ tell his other mutts, you know that, and we need to leave before they come."

"Yes," said Arrow, shaking his head. "We need to continue on. Carter, you think you will be able to live through the rest of today?"

The Dalmatian sighed loudly, overdramatically. "I guess. As long as we can rest tonight, promise?"

"We will, Carter."

"Good! Let's go then!"

The sun felt so good on his back - a little warmer than usual, but nothing out of the ordinary. It was a rather nice day in the backyard. A few birds were chirping peacefully, the wind was slightly blowing the leaves on the trees.

Buddy layed right outside his doghouse, his red and white doghouse with his blue feed bowl and a red chew toy that matched the color of his collar. He let out a sigh of content.

 _I have a good family, it is a beautiful day, month, season. And I found Bolt, finally, and was able to make sure he was safe. When Maria tells Arrow, they will be able to find him and make sure he makes it safely back._ Buddy's eyes closed all the way, and he was almost asleep when something bumped his muzzle.

"What?" Buddy jerked up his muzzle in surprise, coming face to face with another dog his size, but a black color and an evil smirk on his face. "Wha-? Who are you?"

"You know why I am here," said the dog. "And you know who I am . . . or at least who I work for. And I know who _you_ work for."

"Wait, what?" Suddenly, it all dawned on Buddy. "You're one of Volt's Dark Dogs, aren't you?"

"You got it correct, Buddy," the dog nodded his head in fake approval. "Now tell me this - where did Bolt go?"

Buddy jumped to his feet. "You think I would tell one of you? Volt's lackeys?"

"I can make you, if you want," he shrugged, making his tail stiff and rigid. "And anyway, Volt asks. I wouldn't turn it down, it I were you."

"Well, you're not me," Buddy said defiantly, taking a step back, closer to the house with his person inside. "And I will never give away the secrets of the dog who found me a home. _Never._ "

"We will just see about that . . ." the dog said. In one swift motion almost too quick to see, he leapt on the black lab, growling and biting at him.

Buddy fought back and had a good chance but both dogs could tell from the beginning who the strongest of the two was. And it was not the black lab who owned the yard.

"You will regret this, regret ever being one of Arrow's dogs," Volt's agent had pushed Buddy down and wasn't letting him get up. "You will -"

"Get out of my yard, you disgusting scrap of a trashcan!" Buddy's owner came running from the backdoor with a broom in her hand, shaking it and yelling curses to the intruder. :Get off of my Buddy!"

The dog jumped up and ran away, jumping over the fence and onto the other side. Buddy's owner, in a flowery apron with baking powder all over it, ran over to check the him. He got up slowly, hurting but not as much as he thought he would.

"Oh, baby boy!"

Buddy let her search all over him, thinking one urgent thing over and over. _Volt is getting closer and closer, every second counts . . ._


	14. Jealousy

**Author's Note : Thank you for those who keep commenting! :D It means the world to me because I can actually see that someone likes the stories I write! :D It makes me so happy, please don't stop. How about telling me your favorite character in Arrow's group, including himself? It would be awesome to learn who was the most liked. Hehe. (I have a feeling it is not Bing. Hehe)**

 **~Chapter 14~**

It was a glorious night for the three creatures. The dinner they had eaten had come from a big trashcan outside a restuarant where most people apparently through out most of their food. Maybe it was because the food sizes were so large. You never know.

And now they were watching fireworks light up the sky and a hotel's tall water fountain raise higher and higher until it almost touched the sky with it's droplets. It was a magical moment for all of them, but especially Bolt who had never experienced something like this in his entire life.

Mittens looked happily at him, noticing again for the second time that night that his man-made lightning mark was almost completely erased. The journey was taking a turn for the better, turning Bolt into a normal dog was much more fun than searching for scraps of food and trying to live on her own. Against her better judgment, she was beginning to warm up to the fat hamster and the white dog by her. She actually had friends now.

At this thought, she looked happily back at the sky where the colorful fireworks popped and spread through the dark night sky, making everything in the world feel right.

"There is a pack somewhere in this city," Arrow said as they walked alongside the highway, which was busy for the time of night it was. "We can stay with them until morning, then leave and continue on. We're almost there back to HQ."

"Well that is great to know," Carter barked cheerfully. He was at the back of the group with Bing, annoying him to death over everything. Carter would see a bird and yell into Bing's ear, "Look! It is a fried dinner just waiting for me to put my jaws around it!". Or if he saw a moth get hit by a car, which was not at all rare, he would scream, "Oh my! I just watched death happen before my eyes!" and Bing would just sigh and continue moving.

Rain and Sypher were discussing many things, walking just a little slower than Arrow. Whether it was fighting positions, speed endurance, or the correct way to tackle a dog, it was covered by their talk. Arrow did not mind any of the noise, any of the talking or screaming, in Carter's case. He was lost in thought about everything.

Before long they were on the city's outskirts and could easily see the lights in the dark night. Cars whizzed by, the headlights bright, but the group was traveling in the same direction they were so it did not bother them much.

"Are there bears in the wilderness?" Carter asked Bing with a bright look on his face. "I mean, in California. Could we be attacked by a bear?"

Bing, fed up with the constantly bothersome dog, grumbled, "Yes, there are wild bears in California and here, where we are. And they love to eat little white dogs with black spots - mmm, their favorite."

"W-w-what?" Carter stuttered, his eyes growing wider than a saucer.

"Yeah, they eat 'em all the time," Bing sped up slightly, noticing that they were lagging behind from the rest. "I once had a friend like you, a Dalmatian. Poor fellow, he got to cloe to a bear and just like that he was never seen again."

Carter shivered and slowed down, then looked around and hurried back to Bing's side. "S-s-so, there might be _bears_ out here?"

Arrow who had heard everything they were saying started laughing. "Yes, there might be bears out here, Carter, but don't forget that we have Sypher and Rain. They can fight of a couple of bears. And we're near a city. Bears won't travel close to humans with guns."

"You're telling the truth?" Carter asked, swinging his head from Bing to Arrow. "We are really safe out here?"

"Yep."

"Phew," Carter exhaled and wagged his tail. "That was a close one."

"Thanks, Arrow," said Bing dryly. "Now that you have bursted my bubble, could you tell the crazy dog to leave me alone?"

"Carter, why don't you walk up with me for a while," Arrow suggested. "Let Bing have a moment of silence."

"Ok," Carter ran up to him and started talking a mile a minute again. And in this way, with Bing lagging behind, Sypher and Rain discussing procedures to escape from a locked cell, and Carter blabbing to Arrow, they entered the town.

He watched as Arrow and Gina - this S.S.A.O.N.A camp leader - talked about changes and updates. He turned his head slightly and saw Sypher trying to convince Carter to leave Bing alone so he could rest. Carter, however, was not feeling tired since he had thought of a brilliant new game that he wanted to play. The game had been Rain's suggestion, actually, one meant to keep Carter busy while they traveled through town. It was simply called I Spy.

As he saw all of this, he knew he should be tired from the trip. He knew he should be feeling like he always did after he and Sypher talked in length about training, all happy and ready for action. But he didn't feel like that, didn't feel all excited to begin training again, but not tired either.

His mind was awhirl with everything, trying to keep up with what was happening. Ever since he had seen Volt's agents in the alley that one night something had clicked on inside him. Something other than the hatred for those agents - those agents who were trying to kill Bolt, kill Arrow, kill all of them. They were not sent to attack, to fight, but when they found S.S.A.O.N.A members, they could attack without permission. It was not really admiration for them, because Rain knew that would be pushing it to far.

It would be more of jealousy. They could easily just attack at any moment, be able to use their skills at any time. Volt's agents weren't restricted.

Rain sighed and layed his head on his paws. _Arrow doesn't allow us to attack anyone unless it is an urgent matter. I want to use the skills Sypher has taught me, but not on him. He is stronger than me, despite his older age. Not that he is really old._ This thought, the thought of Sypher being considered 'old' made Rain smile. _Maybe it will all change when we get closer to Hollywood. Volt's dogs might be out looking for us._

Arrow snapped him out of his thoughts. "Earth to Rain. Come in, Rain."

When Rain focused his eyes, he saw the Shepherd smiling down at him. Apparently during his thoughts Arrow and Gina had stopped talking and Gina had left the room. The damp, barely lit room. "Wait, what?"

"Did you not hear what I was just telling you?" Arrow chuckled.

"Um . . . no, sorry," Rain tried to think if his subconscious had picked up on anything Arrow had said, but finding no results. "Could you repeat that?"

"It's okay, pup," Arrow patted Rain's head in a teasing way. "We have all had a long day."

"Yeah, sure," said Rain, hoping he hadn't missed anything important. "Where did Gina go?"

"That was just what he was telling us, then telling you because you still seemed fazed," Carter said, bouncing in place, up and down. "She went to go talk to some of the guides that might know the quickest way to get back to Hollywood."

"Thank you for the summary, Carter," Arrow nodded and went to sit down by Sypher. "Tomorrow we will have a safer trip, most likely without running into anymore of Volt's dogs. Less encounters with them, the better."

"I agree." Sypher said, laying down. "It will be quicker to get back when we don't have to watch our tails the whole way."

"But why stop there?" Carter asked, cocking his head to the side. "Why not watch our whole bodies!"

"You're ridiculous, mutt," Bing sighed. "Now why don't we get some sl-"

A small buzzing noise sounded from Arrow's paw-cam. He brought his paw up closer and, after seeing who was contacting him, accepted it.

"Maria?" Arrow called into it, squinting at the small screen.

"Arrow, hello!" Maria, on the screen, said. "Where are you?"

"Another pack camp," said Arrow.

"I see," Maria said, then looked around as if trying to see the rest of the room from her limited screen. "Is everyone there?"

"Yes, they are." Arrow replied.

"Hello, guys!" Maria called to them, loud enough for them to hear. "How are y'all?"

"Awesome," Rain said, smiling.

"Exhausted," Sypher replied, sighing.

"Happy!" Carter barked.

"Ready to see a moth live in front of a truck's headlights." Bing grumbled.

"What?"

Arrow smiled and looked into the camera. "He's been stuck with Carter all day."

"That explains everything."

"Yes, it does."

"Arrow, we have news on Bolt," Maria grinned.

"Really?" For once that day, Arrow looked hopeful. "What is it?"

"He was spotted by an S.S.A.O.N.A member."


	15. Volt's Plans

**Author's Note : My heart is beating quite fast because I know something will happen in this chapter that begins . . . well, for me, the REALLY exciting part! I am so excited to write this! And I am postponing it by writing an Author's Note. Rats. Hehe.**

 **~Chapter 15~**

"No, no, Bolt! That's what they do," Mittens jumped down from the billboard, onto the old truck, and on the ground, striding toward him. "They act like they love you. They act like they'll be there forever. And then, one day, they will pack up and all their stuff and take their love with them, and leave their declawed cat behind to defend for herself!" Mittens had been yelling at this point, but her voice wavered, then fell low. "They leave her wondering what she did wrong."

"Mittens, I'm sorry," Bolt whispered after a second. "But Penny is different."

"Then go, Bolt."

"Mittens, I -"

"Get out of here, Bolt!" Mittens interrupted him, her voice tight. She then added in a whisper, as if speaking to herself, "I should have never taken pity on you."

Bolt head dragged as he started to walk away from the black cat. "Take care, Mittens."

As he was leaving, Mittens didn't even turn once to see him go. Tears had formed in the corner of her eyes from remembering her previous life before she was a stray, a street cat. A nobody. She could not figure out if she had just lost her best friend or her worst enemy. Somehow, she felt it was her friend. And now he was leaving her just like her family had done. This was what life was for her, she thought, fighting back the tears.

"Faster, faster, faster!" Carter urged, running ahead of the others, then running back. "The great Carter is almost there!"

"Carter, be careful, there are railroad tracks ahead," Arrow cautioned, looking up at the dinging signs. "Don't want you getting hit."

"Ooh, candycanes!" Carter barked when he came to the striped poles that went down to prevent cars from getting on the railroad when a train was passing by. "Bing! Look what I found!" He started gnawing on them as the train whoosed past him, ruffling his fur.

"Congrats," Bing said sarcastically, coming to a stop at the railroad crossway with the others. "Tell me how they taste."

"Woodwy." Carter said, his mouth full. "And pwaintewy."

"Awesome job, Carter. You've struck gold," said Bing with a roll of his eyes.

"No, not gwold," Carter said, clamping on with his jaws. "Cwradycrane."

"Sure, dog. Whatever."

The train had passed through the mini town and the blockers started to rise up, taking Carter - who was not going to let go of his prize - with it. "Um, gwuys?"

"Leave him, leave him!" Bing urged in a whisper.

"Let go, Carter." Arrow said, running across the tracks with the three others. "We need to go. We're getting close."

"Owkay." Carter let go and dropped to the ground, recovering and running to catch up with them.

"It's strange how Bolt is alreayd ahead of us," Rain said, thinking about everything Maria had told them over the paw-cam. "He is going to get there before we do."

"Which is good, I would guess," Sypher nodded his head. "Unless, of course, something goes awry and we can't get there as fast."

"It will be good to get back home," Bing sighed. "All this walking has made me near dead. My paw pads are sure to come off if we don't get there soon."

"Don't worry, Bing," Arrow said with a smile. "We'll be there in no time. Two days at most, if we decide to go slow."

"Two days sounds like an awfully lo-" Bing stopped the instant they heard Arrow's paw-cam buzz.

Arrow looked who it was from and accepted it. "Maria? Didn't expect to hear from you so soon." They stopped walking and stood on the side of the hardly-used road, lined with old sidewalks and dirty trash in the trees and bushes.

"Arrow!" Maria gasped from the other side of the cam. Angel was sitting right next to her, as was the dog named Timber. "Arrow, we have news on Volt!"

"Calm down, Maria, what's the matter?" Sypher, Bing, Carter, and Rain crowded around Arrow to see the dogs on screen.

"It's Volt! He plans . . . to . . ." she stuttered, struggling to get the words out in a rush. All their faces looked panicked. "He plans to burn the studio!"

"What?!" Sypher barked in surprise. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he realized that Bolt's owner didn't love him! She was still loyal to Bolt, and Bolt only!" Angel said, her face flustered. "Once the building is on fire, he will run in and save her and become the world's greatest hero! She will _have_ to love him then, won't she?"

"No," Arrow shook his head. "And then . . ."

"Yes, Bolt will be replaced," Timber said, nodding his head. "And where does he go then?"

All of them were speechless, not knowing what to say.

"He will go back home," Arrow said, a look of determination in his eyes.

Sypher instantly caught on and smiled. "Because we will make sure Volt's plans don't go through."

Volt scowled. "Why are there so many cats around here?" He grumbled. "And why did they have to chose this stupid white color for the dog?"

"I think the dog was already that original color," Fabio chuckled. "Patience, Volt. Before long you will be the most famous dog in the world and you can show your true colors."

"Yes, yes, you're quite right," Volt said, sighing. "Let's just hope all goes well."

"It will, I don't have a doubt," Fabio smiled and looked around the empty set that would not be used in the shooting of this evening's episode. "And y'all will have a rehersal before the filming begins, and then . . ."

"Then all my work will be payed off in full," Volt said, and then grinned evilly. "And my brother will be no longer wanted."

She scrubbed harder, blinking back tears. Although the green and brown army boots - her favorite things to wear when she wasn't acting - were sparkling and clean, she still scrubbed with an old rag. It comforted her just a bit.

Penny missed Bolt. It was obvious to everyone, but everyone did not seem to really care. All they cared about was making the next episode, filming it, editing it, getting it on TV. They were all saying that is had been too long since the last episode, before Bolt went missing.

She was in her dressing room, all alone. The door was closed, but she still tried her hardest not to cry.

It was hard when they expected her to do this next scene, this one that Bolt was supposed to make an astounding rescue of his owner, saving her from a fiery furnace. She was supposed to be elevated high in the air by a rope, dangling over the supposed 'furnace'. It did not sound exciting or interesting at all. She was not looking forward to doing this with the new dog, the dog who obeyed the trainor's commands, who always looked as if he was hiding a secret, who always looked like white just wasn't his color. And she found that he had a big black splotch on his belly, making it look like he had been body painted or something.

Yes, he was cute and all. But he wasn't her beloved Bolt. No one, not any dog in the entire universe, could replace Bolt. To her, he was a hero, a real hero. Not because he was a super star and that any person in their right minds could recognize him even from afar, but because he was _hers._ Her good boy.

She could not help the tears that streaked down her face on fell into her lap as she rubbed the boots over and over. Then she set the boot she was working on down, got up and brushed away the tears from her eyes. With a sniff, she turned to the full-length mirror.

It reflected a teenaged girl with short red hair, freckles on her face, in a pink shirt and blue jeans. It showed a girl, broken hearted and missing her best friend in the world. With a sigh, Penny grabbed powder from her desk, next to the mirror, and brushed it over her face to hide the fact that she had been crying. She did not want her Mom to be worried or concerned more than she already was.

"You can do it, Penny," she said to herself. "Just get this practice and the filming over with and you can go back to looking for Bolt."

And she left them room, still as sad and disheartened as ever.


	16. Broken Hearted

**Author's Note : Sorry I've been away for a few days. Had a video contest and I had to get my entry done. That is what I have been doing when I was supposed to be writing. XP Sorry guys. Annnndddd, NaNo begins in a week . . .**

 **~Chapter 16~**

The sign was bigger than any other sign Bolt had seen on the trip. HOLLYWOOD was painted in huge, white letters. For once since he had left Mittens, Bolt smiled and let his tail wag, but only just a bit. He looked down at the huge city before him, the tall buildings looming high and the sun glinting off them.

Despite the dangers that were probably just waiting for him, Bolt was not turning back. Not after he had come so far to find his person, the person he knew loved him, no matter what Mittens had said.

"Oh my, wow!" a voice from behind Bolt said. He turned around to face two pidgeons who were staring at him with wide, unbelieving eyes.

If someone knew how long they had been running, they would have suspected that these were super dogs, not normal dogs who were on a mission to destroy an evil dog and _protect_ a super dog.

They had been running hours, a great many hours with very few rests (and even then, the rests themselves were short), and it was beginning to wear on all of them. Yet somehow Sypher, Rain, and Arrow managed to stay at a quick run, making sure not to go too fast to where they would lose Bing and Carter, who were lagging behind at a lengthy pace.

"Y'all coming?" Sypher called over his shoulder, casting a quick glance in their direction.

"Tryi . . ." Bing take a deep breath, trying to spoke normally without sounding like he was about to die of exhaustion. "Trying to."

"Good," said Sypher, giving them an encouraging smile and running.

The sun was hidden behind layers of thick, gray clouds, but it was easy to see that they would soon fade and it would be blindingly bright once again. Hollywood, California, was in sight, but still a bit away.

The five dogs had taken a quicker route through a field of prickly dead grass, a brownish color. It was not the best feeling thing on their paws, but none of them were complaining.

Carter stumbled and cried out before tripping and landing on his side on the ground. Bing, who was right next to him, came to a smooth stop and walked over to the panting dog. The three others slowed and turned around, breathing hard but still capable of continuing.

Carter, his tongue sticking out and sweat soaking his fur, looked up at Bing with tired eyes. He then smiled a small smile and patted the ground next to him with his paw, inviting Bing to sit down with him.

Bing turned his head and looked directly at Arrow. "I don't think we can continue like this. Carter and I weren't made for this kind of exercise and I think he is about to die."

"Close to it," Carter breathed, hardly able to catch his breath. "I am glad you are here to safe me in case I need it."

"But we can't stop," Arrow said, glancing at the upcoming city. "If Volt sets the whole studio on fire, and if Bolt gets to close . . ."

"What if we went on together," Sypher nodded his head at Arrow. "We would be faster and Rain could stay behind to protect them. They could take their time to get back to HQ. Because if Bolt . . . like you said, Arrow, if Bolt is close . . ." Sypher hesitated as though his next words were owns he wished hadn't come to mind. "What if he tries to rescue his human? He doesn't know that _Volt_ is going to attempt just that. He could get killed."

Arrow shook his head, although for one moment he had looked hopeful that the suggestion might work. "No, we can't leave them here, even with Rain to protect them. It would be too dangerous."

"Are you doubting my skills?" Rain asked in a teasing tone. "I am so disappointed."

"N-n-no." Carter said, sitting up. "We'll come with y'all. We can do it."

"Are you sure?" Bing asked, looking toward the city. "I am sure we need to get going and get going fast if we are to get there in time."

"Yes, I'm ready," Carter got to his feet and grinned. "I'll be faster than molasses on a warm winter day!"

"Alright, let's go," Arrow smiled and they started to run again. All of them were smiling, although one of them was forcing it.

And that someone was Rain.

"Everything in check?" Volt whispered to the cat beside him, sitting in the dark shadows of the unused set. "Will it be ready for the 'big moment', as you call it?"

"Absolutely." Fabio assured him, chuckling. "You should stop worrying, Volt. It will go seamlessly. We've already tracked down your brother - who, according to your agents - will have just entered Hollywood right about now."

"Perfect," Volt hid a barely concealed smile. "Then he will not even be close when we set this house on flames."

"I completely agree -"

"Bolt!" Penny called smiling joyously and running toward the white dog. "You came back! I thought I lost you!"

"That's my cue," said Volt coolly and started running toward the little red-headed girl.

Bolt, squeaky carrot toy in mouth, wagged his tail as soon as he heard her call his name. She was there! At the end of the hallway, there was the one person he had been looking for, the one he had crossed the country for. His Penny.

A smile spread on his furry face and he started running toward her, wagging his tail furiously, imaginging the next moments that she would sweep him up in her arms, kiss him on his head, and tell him how much she had missed him.

Mittens was wrong. She did still love him, and he knew it. He _knew_ it!

Just before Bolt got into the light from the dark hallway, another white ball raced toward the girl in blue jeans and a blue long-sleeve shirt. Bolt slowed and came to a stop, watching with his eyes wide.

Penny fell to her knees and hugged the dog - the imposter, it seemed to Bolt - and smiled some more. She let go and rubbed his ears back, kissing the dog on the head where she would always kiss Bolt.

"You're my good boy," She said, and the dog licked her.

Bolt, crestfallen, confused, and confounded, turned sadly away, ignoring the slight feeling that he had seen this dog somewhere else. It quickly disappeared as he walked down the dark hallway and dropped Mr. Carrot on the ground, his head hanging and his steps heavy.

He was wrong. Mittens was right. Penny had replaced him and truly didn't care anything about him. When he came to the door that lead back outside, he looked back once with the saddest look on his face. It was all over. The fakes adventures in which he had 'saved' her so many times. The times that she would try to get him to act normal without him knowing what normal really was.

The times she had kissed his head and spoken those exact words to him.

A long forgotten memory came to mind suddenly when he stepped into the bright daylight. It was accompanied by another one.

The first was a glass wall, so much taller than his puppy self. Playing with the carrot he had just dropped on the floor inside the studio. And a young girl coming to the window and placing her hand against the glass, him doing the same. Because he had loved that girl the first time he had layed eyes on her. Loved her and knew that she was the one who was going to take him home, be his owner, the one who he had to protect. He blinked away the sudden tears of the memory.

The second one was confusing, and Bolt did not feel like pondering anything difficult right at this time. It was of a black dog, right next to him, a puppy just like himself. They were smiling and standing next to a wall, keeping quiet as they listened in on a conversation in the other room between two dogs.

"We can't tell him, not when he is so young," a female dog said, her voice calm and gentle. "Volt knows, but we have told him not to tell."

"I know, but if he gets adopted and doesn't know . . ." said a male dog. "Maria, I am not sure what to do, but we can't not tell him."

Volt's smile instantly vanished when he realized what their parents were discussing. "Come on, Bolt." The black pup turned and ran down the slick floor, into the puppy room their master had made.

"Coming right behind yah, Volt!" Bolt barked gleefully.

The name - Volt - spun around Bolt's head but he ignored it. All he cared about right now was that all he had, all that he loved, was gone. And it was enough to break anyone's heart.


	17. Fire

**Author's Note : We are so close to the end, so close!**

 **~Chapter 17~**

"Meet us at the studio," Arrow said, talking quickly into his paw-cam. "We're almost there. Bring Angel as well."

"Got it," Maria replied, then the screen went black.

Arrow got up and nodded to his companions. "Alright, we need to get passed security and the guards. We will split into two groups. I will take one and Sypher will lead the other one. Carter will come with me and when Angel and Maria come they will join us. Sypher, you take Rain and Bing with you. Your job first is to locate Bolt and keep him away from here." Arrow took a deep breath, glancing at the bright streets. "If all goes well, we will meet back up at the studio if Volt's plans don't go through."

"Got it," Sypher said and looked toward Bing and Rain. "Y'all ready? We gotta go find that dog before it's too late."

"Angel said he was last spotted near the studio, following a band of pidgeons," Carter said, studying the information sent through his paw-cam. "Y'all should head around the west side, maybe around the east. He's pretty close from what she can tell."

Sypher nodded. "Anything else, Arrow?"

"No, go ahead," said Arrow. He watched at the three dogs sprinted down the alleyway and onto the street, disappearing behind a corner. "Are you ready for this, Carter? We're going to have to run fast and get there soon. It is just down the street."

"Sure!" Carter said, wagging his tail and standing up. "Let's get going then."

"Good." Arrow smiled and they started running down the alleyway and onto the warm concrete sidewalk, toward the studio.

 _The moment is near, so close. The time has come. It is time to show the world who the real hero is, time for them to forget the dog who they adored before. And with everything going according to plan . . ._ Volt's thoughts, to him, were happy and very giddy ones. The time had come, and he was ready.

Ready and in a cage, waiting for the man with the padded wear all over him to release him and let him go find Penny. To 'rescue' her. Ha, right!

"You ready, puppy?" The padded man said, looking in the cage at the white dog.

Volt growled, not wanting to see the ugly man's face. The man moved back a safe distance, even though the dog was in the cage.

The dog went back to his glorious thoughts. As soon as he got out of the fiery building, he would use the chemical spray his hired color assitant had said would change him back to his original color. When he was fully black, he would get inside through a way that Fabio had said would not fall easily, that he had assured would stay open long enough for Volt to get in, find the girl, and get her out. It would be so simple.

And after he emerged from the building, the girl would think of him as her forever hero and everyone would see him as the greatest dog on earth.

Bolt sighed dejectedly, sadly. "You . . . you were right, Mittens. She . . . she doesn't love me."

"No, Bolt," Mittens argued, her face full of determination. "She _does._ I was in there watching her. She is broken hearted. She doesn't want just any dog, Bolt. She wants you."

Arrow and Carter, nearly running the same pace, slowed when they saw a dog coming toward them. He was a large dog, slightly larger than Arrow, and looked suspiciously toward them.

"Oh, for all the . . ." he slowed and turned down another alleyway, Carter following him with apprehension of what Arrow was doing.

This alleyway had a chain link fence at the ending, the side filled up with trash and piles of disgusting stuff. The tall buildings on either side of it blocked out most of the blazing sun, but the heat was as hot as ever on the concrete.

"Is he following?" Arrow asked Carter, slowing down once he got to the fence.

Carter turned his head to the side. "No, but we don't want to cross paths with him again." He nodded his head when they came to a stop at the fence. "One of Volt's agents."

"Just great," said Arrow, sizing up the chains that were at least four feet tall. "We need to get over here. If we do that, the back entrance to the studio is right there."

"So . . ." Carter thought long and hard about it, obviously not coming up with a plan. "What do we do?"

"I am thinking we climb the fence," Arrow said. "Hurry, let's go."

Arrow backed up a couple of steps and then ran toward the fence and jumped on it, as if he were attacking it. With careful placements of his paws, he managed to get to the top and balance there. "Carter, do what I did, but when I jump down -"

Before the Shepherd finished his sentence, Carter was jumping on the fence, making the chains shake and Arrow make a hurried fall to the ground on the other side. The Dalmatian, clawing with all his might as if someone were behind him, trying to eat him, made it to the top and jumped clumsily over next to Arrow.

"There!" He exclaimed, hopping up and down. "That was so much fun!"

Arrow looked toward the buildings of the studio and then around the whole place, making sure that it was clear. He nodded at Carter. "Stay close and stay quiet."

Carter nodded his head only once, then stepped closer to Arrow's side. They started walking toward the back entrance, but stopped when he heard something behind them. Carter's eyes were wide when he realized that something - some _one -_ was following them, was right behind them.

Arrow whirled around in unison with Carter, coming nearly face to face with the big dog on the street and two others viscious looking mutts. Carter yelped in surprise and flew back.

"Aw, if it isn't the legendary leader of the whole S.S.A.O.N.A," said the big dog, casting a mischevious smile to his friends. "We have heard so much about you. May I introduce myself and my fellow canines. I am Hacker, this Chihuahua and Terrier mix is Dinji, and the Yellow Lab is Cork. It it a pleasure to meet your aquintance."

"Yes, quite," said Arrow, sarcastically, with a curl of his lip. "What do y'all want?"

"To stop you from ruining Master Volt's fabulous and awesome plans," Hacker cocked his head to one side. "You wouldn't want -"

"I am sure we wouldn't want whatever you were about to say," said a female dog's voice, coming from the right of the two groups of dogs.

All of them swiveled their heads toward the voice. There stood two dogs, a tan and brown German Shepherd with a white heart-shaped splotch around her eye, and another Shepherd. Angel and Maria.

"Get away from them - no, from all of us - before we rip out your throats," Angel added, growling. "It isn't a fair fight; four against three. You'd lose for sure. Now beat it!"

She faked a charge at them and they growled, then turned and ran away, away from the studio with nary a glance behind them. None of them wanted to get hurt, and they had heard about how well the dogs of the S.S.A.O.N.A fought.

Arrow released a sigh of relief. "I seriously can't think of a better time that you could have come in."

Sypher had trained Rain for almost his entire life in defense, agility, tracking, and a great many other things. Knowing how to track, both the Cattle Dog and the mixed breed new what to do and both had their heads to the ground, following an invisible scent.

Bing just stood quietly behind them, watching and waiting until they had Bolt's exact locations.

Sypher grunted and lifted his head, staring at the front of the large studio with it's many buildings inside the rock walls. They had kept their heads to the ground and were right across the street from it, never seeing the white dog and black cat on the other side. "There he is."

Rain and Bing, surprised how none of them had smelled him or even seen him, looked exactly where Sypher had said. There he was, talking to a black and white cat who looked like she was trying to convince him of something.

"Come on," Sypher said, just about to cross the road when a large eighteen wheeler drove in front of him, cutting them off. They sat there as it went by, carrying a heavy looking helicopter for the episodes. "This is going to take forever, and we'll miss our only chance to get him away."

When the truck finally passed, they saw not Bolt or the cat he had traveled with. They saw nothing at all.

"Wha-?" Rain shook his head, unsure where they went.

Sypher sniffed the air and looked toward the studio with wide eyes. The air had a slight smell of smoke to it, an unusual smell in this part of the city. "Oh no."

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._ The elevator doors slid open smoothly and Volt leaped out, getting in an attack position and barking. His teeth were bared, on cue, as he stared at the 'Green-Eyed Man' with Penny's Dad in a chair, strapped by metal clasps. Penny, suspended in air by a rope over the 'fiery furnace' smiled.

"Bolt!" She screamed, following the script. Volt knew she truly wasn't happy or excited to see him, but it was acting time.

Dr. Calico, the actor, pointed a long, bony finger in the dog's direction. "Get. That. Dog!" He said to his minions, the electric trooper people.

Three men in black, fitted suits charged toward Volt with their shock gloves activated and looking like they would electrocute the dog. Now it was really time for Volt to act.

Volt flattened his ears against his head and backed away, pretending to be frightened of the men. The dog trainor, watching all this, pointed toward the stage. Instead, Volt turned away and was about to run back to the elevator when the padded man appeared to catch him.

"Come here, boy, it's okay," the man said, trying to get him to come toward him.

Volt whimpered and pretended to slip of the slick platform, knocking down several of the tiki torches - holding actual fire - and running away. The whole stage set on flames that spread all around, burning everything in sight.


	18. Left Hoping

**Author's Note : OMDOG! Guys, looky at where we are at! :D We are finally there! Ok, well, maybe a few more chapters that I need to include. THIS IS SO BE-AWESOME!**

 **~Chapter 18~**

Swiftly running through the thick crowd, dodging the running people who were trying to get away from the burning building, Arrow and his group ran through the open gates of the studio. As they turned the corner to get to the back of the buildings, Sypher, Bing, and Rain joined them.

Sticking to the sides, away from the buildings and the people, the dogs snuck to the back of the studio. Arrow and Sypher, leading the group, came to an abrupt stop as soon as they saw the main building, the main building with it's few opening spewing flames.

Angel, first to recover from the shock of the fire, looked hurriedly around the crowd spotting the dog they were looking for. "It's him! He's there!"

All of them looked in the direction she had said and saw Bolt weaving through the people with a black and white cat and a hamster in a plastic ball.

"Y'all stay here," Sypher said, nodding for Arrow to join him. Without another word they took off toward the white dog, hoping against hope that they would get there in time. The dog was halfway there, toward the only entry, and they were a good ways away.

The dog trainor caught Volt and had run out of the building in a hurry, avoiding the spreading fire. As soon as they were out in the sun light, Volt tried to escape to continue his plan of saving the girl still inside. But the trainor held on, speaking to the dog in a calming, soothing voice.

As they ran through the entire crowd of panicked people, something white flew past Volt, still in the arms of the stupid trainor.

When Penny's agent, a white-haired idiot who Volt had disliked from the beginning, tripped over the white ball of speed, it crashed onto the ground. It only took a second for the white thing - a dog, Volt could tell - to get up, but in that time Volt recognized who it was.

It was his brother, his younger brother who was _supposed_ to be far away from here. And his brother, Bolt, was about to ruin his plans and get into the burning building!

With a furious growl, Volt managed to slip past the arms of the man carrying him and run away, ignoring the trainor's yelling.

It was confusing, all the sounds streaming through his ears. People yelling, sounds of shoes hitting the concrete, distant barking that was rather faint. All his senses were tuned to high, following not only his ears and eyes but also his heart.

Somehow, he was not quite sure _how,_ he knew that Penny was still in the building, trapped. He knew he had to get inside the studio, had to find Penny. And he knew that he wasn't alone because of his two friends on either side of him, racing with him toward the only opening.

Another group of people, five or six of them, were coming right toward Bolt, their faces showing fear and need to get far away. The front person was carrying a white dog, the second was a weighty man, a few others after that, and then a slender man in a business suit.

"What do we do?" Mittens asked, her voice strained from her being scared. Asides from the fire, there were many humans around her and it was nerve racking.

"Just make sure I get inside that building," Bot replied.

Bolt was able to pole bend around all of them until he came to the skinny man in which he ran into his feet. The man was thrown across the lot and Bolt fell onto the ground, Mittens and Rhino running ahead without looking back. Within seconds, Bolt was up and running again, ignoring the man behind him who's eyes had widened in surprise.

" _Bolt?_ "

When Bolt had located the single entrance once again, he saw Rhino in his ball, holding up a large and heavy piece of metal that was about to fall over the door completely. There was only enough room for an animal to fit through.

He saw Mittens run to Rhino's side and unlocked his exercise ball, grabbing the chubby hamster in her paws and pulling him out. The light weight of him sent her back, far away enough from the falling metal that was covering the flames of the inside building.

Bolt ignored everything in that one moment. His mind was blank except for the most basic things he needed to remember, needing to do. He had to get inside. He had to find Penny. He had to get her to safety. Failing was not an option.

Tiredness, stress, and everything that had built up over the journey vanished in an instant. With a single, last resort jump, Bolt flew into the burning building. Just before the huge piece of metal crushed Rhino's ball and covered the only exit, Bolt saw just a glimpse of two dogs who were running and hastily stopped, not far from the building. And then he didn't see anything outside.

A black dog ran to a door that nobody had seen was open. Only problem was that it was barely even open because pieces of the set were all around the entrance.

Volt did not stop running until he got right at the opening to the burning building. The bright and intensely hot fire licked out at him, making him draw back. But it wouldn't stop him. No, he was going to beat Bolt to finding the girl, or he would kill Bolt right there. Either way, he was going to become a hero and Bolt would be dead.

With a smile, Volt - once again black - charged to the door. The second his front paw hit the inside of the building, an enormous piece of something crashed down, sending shards of metal out. Volt was thrown back by the force, landing on his back on the hard ground.

Though he hardly knew what had happened he knew that he had gotten hit by some of the metal. He could tell by the pain and the feel of blood dripping down his forhead, between his eyes, and onto his muzzle. It was a deep wound, but it did not hurt in comparison to the anger of knowing there was no way to enter. No way to continue his brilliant, bound to succeed plan.

Fabio came running over, panting and obviously out of breath. "Volt! Volt! I saw what happened, are you okay?" He ran back and forth, looking on either side of the dog's face. "Man, what a horrible scrape that is! We need to get it tended to soo-"

"You said," Volt whipped around, staring Fabio dead in the face. "You said that this entrance would hold up for my entrance and my exit. And what is it now?"

"Eh, sorry, Volt. I wasn't predicting that," Fabio's eyes darted nervously around. "Oh, but I need to tell you. There is no way that dog can escape, so he and the girl are stuck in there. And other than that, Arrow and his dogs are here!"

"Arrow?" Volt said, contemplating this. "That means we will need to hide out, but I want to watch and make sure that they don't get out alive."

"Yes, sir."

Maria, Rain, Angel, and the other two dogs came running up to Sypher and Arrow, their faces showing surprise and fear.

"Arrow?" Maria asked, her voice cracking.

The Shepherd turned to his mate. "All we can do is wait and hope that he somehow makes it out alive."

Time went by slower than any of them could have imagined. They stood and watched helplessly as the smoke drifted out of the building in long, ominous waves. All of them hoped with all their might that the impossible would be possible and that they Bolt would escape alive.

Mittens, once she had recovered from the shock of seeing Bolt run into the building that was burning down, had run with Rhino under a car's tires.

Yes, humans and people were everywhere, but she was not so close to them as she was before. But no matter what she had felt before, it was all gone now. She only cared about her best friend, asides from Rhino, who was in the flames. He had run to his death, she was certain. Even Rhino was not excited for Bolt's heroic acts, but rather terrified. Just as she was, right then, in that moment.

"Mittens?" Rhino whispered, fear etched into his voice.

The cat looked down on Rhino and then back at the piece of metal covering the door. "Don't . . . don't worry, Rhino. He will . . . he will make it."

She knew her voice was not as reassuring as she had hoped. She knew that she didn't half believe what she had said. They could stand and hope the slightest hope that everything would be alright.

But as the minutes dragged on, she was much less sure.


	19. Safe and Mysterious

**Author's Note : The last review I got asked what is wrong with me, I guess because I always leave the chapters hanging somewhere. Answer - it was bed time and I couldn't write more. XD And sorry for not posting last night. It was a really wild night.**

 **~Chapter 19~**

It was hard to see inside the building, with the flames surrounding him as he ran. Parts of the set were falling down all around him, nearly crashing down on top of him.

Stopping for a moment to gather his thoughts, he looked around. The fire was everywhere, covering every surface, making it seem impossible to pass through anywhere. With a shake of his head - telling himself not to stop, but to keep going - he ducked under a low beam and jumped over a large piece of metal, barely hitting to top and scraping his paw. Ignoring it, he growled. In this way he would get nowhere.

Bolt spotted a high pile of rubbish and started making his way to the top of it, hoping to get a better look. His eyes darted around, capturing everything in his mind. There was no sign of Penny.

A new idea popped into his mind, one that seemed unlikely. Highly unlikely. But there was a very slight chance it would work.

He barked a few times, as loud as he could. A spark flew on his ear and he flinched, but listened with intent. Scanning the whole area, he saw a shadow of something. No, not some _thing._ Some _one._ A head popped out from around a corner.

Penny looked up and saw - of all things - her lost dog. She saw Bolt, not with all the dirt and smoke on his fur, but with a joyous look on his face.

"Bolt!" Penny gasped and started running toward him, smiling and brushing everything away, racing toward him.

The white dog, more gray because of the ash, jumped down and started running toward her as well, smiling and so happy to see his owner. His human. The person who loved him, now and forever.

When they got close enough they embraced each other, Penny grasping Bolt and not letting go. Tears fell down her face. Bolt wagged his tail.

"I thought I lost you," Penny cried. "Oh, Bolty. You're my good boy." Bolt whimpered in happiness.

Suddenly there was a crack form above, and both of them looked up in surprise. A helicopter, one of the ones that was hanging from the ceiling, started to loosen from it's wires. Penny screamed and started running away from it, with Bolt at her side. They jumped another peice of set, and when the copter fell to the ground, the force knocked them over.

"We can't just sit here and wait!" Angel cried, looking between Arrow, Maria, and Sypher. "He . . . he is in there!"

"I know, Angel," Arrow said quietly. "We can't do anything."

Rain turned his head when he saw something dark out of the corner of his eye. He looked between the feet and legs of many people and spotted a black dog, slinking between the crowd. "Sypher! Volt is here!"

By the time Arrow, Bing, Carter, and Maria had spotted Volt, Rain and Sypher had already taken off and were halfway to him. Volt saw them and started running away in another direction, injured but fast as fast.

"Arrow?" Carter whispered, unsure what to do. "Should we let them go after him alone?"

"No, but we can't leave either," Arrow replied, sighing. He looked at Bing. "I want you to go find them and see if they need help. If they do come back here and tel-"

A small, quiet, and almost imperceptible sound could be heard. It was something that could pass for a bark, though distant sounding.

A fireman, next to a bright red firetruck, raised his hand and yelled, "Everyone be quiet."

Again, there was a bark, though this one louder, coming from the large vent attached to the building. It echoed, then faded, but it was enough for the firemen to go off of. In their yellow suits, they ran toward the sound.

"Go, Bolt, go," Penny said weakly. "I'll be okay."

But instead, Bolt ignored her and came to her side, laying down right next to her. She smiled and pet him once on his head with her soot covered hand. "You're my good boy."

Everything going through Bolt's head slowly cleared as realization hit him. They were going to die, trapped in the burning building. It was all over, after five years of inseparation, they were finally at the end of the road. After traveling across the whole United States of America it was over. It was gone. It was the _end._

But Bolt could not have felt more at peace, if this was the way it would end. He had finally found the person who loved him, who cared for him, who was forever loyal to him. He knew that she would never give him up, even for another dog. He would always be _hers._ For some reason, though, Bolt knew that it could not be the end. Not now.

Sirens. There was a fain noise he heard coming from the air vent. And they were sirens and people, barely heard over the crackling of the fire. But they were something. And if sound could travel from outside to the _inside,_ couldn't it travel from the inside to the _outside_? With a hope, Bolt rose shakily on his paws and took a step closer to the vent.

 _I have no powers, but it is worth a shot._ Bolt thought to himself. _If I can only bark my loudest, if only to be heard . . . it might work. But it might not. If it doesn't work that means - no, Bolty, you can't doubt yourself. Penny needs a hero, and no one else is exactly lining up for the job._

Though he was so weak and it was incredibly hard to breathe Bolt placed his back paw behind him, one of his front paws in front of him. With one more look at the vent, he leaned his head back and then gave his best bark.

The sound echoed, but then faded all to quickly. It wouldn't do the job. Pulling his head back once more, he sucked in as much air as there was to offer and unleashed an even louder bark.

Still, it didn't feel like enough. Bolt's eyelids started to drop low, and he gave one last, small bark before falling onto the ground, giving up into a world of black and flames.

Sypher and Rain ran up to the group of dogs, all of them anxiously watching as the men in yellow outfits went through the hole they made in the wall.

It felt like ten seconds took a century, for everyone - humans and animals alike - were holding their breath. The only sounds were the sirens and the flickering flames and pieces of the set falling down on the inside.

And, after a few seconds, a fireman emerged with a young girl slung over his shoulder. A few paramedics ran over with a stretcher and she was layed on it, an oxygen mask strapped around her mouth.

The seven dogs turned their heads back to the whole, waiting for the next fireman to come out.

Several seconds passed before he did come out, carrying something grayish colored with ash and smoke covering it's fur. It was Bolt.

Carter was bouncing in place with happiness, thinking that everything was perfect since both of them had been rescued. The others were not jumping for joy because they did not even know if Bolt was alive, but Carter had not thought about that.

Arrow gestured toward the stretcher that the people were pushing toward an ambulance and started running through the crowd. All six dogs were right behind him. When they got close enough to the ambulance, they hid behind another large truck and waited, watching as the humans lifted the stretcher into the ambulance and Bolt on the stretcher. Angel happened to look down and see a black and white cat and a brown hamster clinging to the metal poles on the bottem, but quickly turned her attention back to Bolt.

Penny's mother entered the ambulance, but stood out of the way as the doctors did their jobs. Only when they were about to head to the hosptital did she sit next to Penny and tell her everything was going to be okay.

Carter growled low as a slender man in a business suit with white hair entered the emergency vehicle.

"That man is trouble," he whispered, narrowing his eyes into slits. "If I was over there I would bite his -"

Interrupting his talk was the man flying out of the ambulance and falling onto the ground. He quickly sat up and looked back at an angry Penny's mom. "We quit."

"Now, now let's not make any rash desicions. Hey, let's put a pin in it!"

The ambulance door slammed shut and started to drive away from the fire, away from the man, away from the group of dogs watching it fade away.

"Volt got away," Sypher said to Arrow. "When we heard the barks we decided not to pursue him."

"No problem," Arrow said. "The main importance right now is finding out where Bolt is going. But until then, let's get back to Headquarters."

They all smiled because he was alive. He was still living and breathing, though now it would be quite difficult to continue protecting him, seeing as how he would not be kept on the studio site.

But it did not matter. He was alive and he was going to be just fine - they were sure of it. And with those thoughts in their minds, they headed back to the S.S.A.O.N.A HQ.

When Bolt opened his eyes, he was greeted with brightness. Which technically should not happen when you are dead. But was he dead?

He groaned and tried to lift his head, but he was so tired and weak and his eyes just would not focus on anything. His mind was foggy, but one thought was as clear as water: _Was Penny okay?_

When he finally managed to make sense of anything, a minute later, he realized he was in a cage, on blankets. He groaned again as he tried to get up but failed. The door unlocked and a woman bent down, smiling at him.

"Hey, puppy," she said in a gentle voice. "It's okay, you're safe. And so is your owner; she is at the hospital, but will be perfectly fine. You can go see her later after you're perfectly fine."

Bolt, still confused but at least comforted, layed his head back down and watched as she closed the door and walked out. He felt something on his front right paw and looked at it. A bandage was wrapped carefully around it, tight but not too tight. Bolt knew it was because of the hot metal he had ran on had made his paw pad start to peel away and crack badly.

Sighing, he closed his eyes.

"Are you going to sleep again?" A voice from right outside Bolt's cage said.

Bolt's eyes flew open and he saw a dog standing right outside the door. The dog was a Cattle Dog for sure, but his tail was not docked. He looked older than Bolt, but not super old.

"What?" Bolt asked, staring curiously at the dog.

"Never mind, you're obviously awake," the dog said. "Are you okay?"

"What?"

"Is that all you can say?"

"No," said Bolt, cocking his head to one side. "I can say a great many things. Who are you?"

"There will be time for that," the dog assured him. "I just wanted t make sure you were fine and inform you that your two friends are with the girl's mother. They're safe. And so is your human."

"H-how would you know . . . ?" Bolt was confused and he felt a throbbing headache coming on. "Wait. What? I am not understanding."

"Bolt, you don't have to understand anything," said the Cattle Dog in a calm voice. "Just know that everyone is safe, thanks to you. And that we will be in touch."

With that, the dog left Bolt wondering who that curious dog was.


	20. Every Storm Runs Out of Rain

**Author's Note : Now that we have reached the final chapter, it is kind of sad. But know that it technically is not the end, because I will continue writing Bolt stories with Arrow (the whole S.S.A.O.N.A) and Volt (the V.A.D.D's, as they will be known later) on here. Hehe, have a be-awesome time readin this, people!**

 **~Chapter 20~**

-Three Months Later -

The clouds up above in the dark sky promised a thunderstorm soon, and Sypher and Rain were nowhere near Headquarters. They were walking side by side on the sidewalk, their path lit by flickering light poles and the blinking stop lights, coming back from a scouting mission on the outskirts of town, near Bolt's home.

It had been a long night and Rain was unnaturally quiet. Sypher suspected that he was just tired from everything - the long day, the long scouting mission, the constant watch for Volt and his evil gang of thugs. He himself was not feeling very talkative and was feeling tension between the dog next to him.

Both of them snapped out of their thoughts when thunder roared up above and rain started down. Sypher nodded his head toward an empty alleyway and they ran into, ducking out of the downpour. The rain was coming at a slant and the tall buildings on either side of the alley blocked some but not all of it from hitting them.

"Guess we'll be staying here until this passes over," Sypher said, watching the lightning strike the sky. "You fine with that?"

"Yep," Rain mumbled and sat down. "Fine with me."

Sypher sat down across from him and stared at him. When Rain realized what he was doing he cocked his head. "What?"

"You've just been acting kind of strange lately," said Sypher, choosing his words carefully. "During fighting practices today you seemed distracted and this time is was so simple to get you pinned down." He smiled in a teasing way.

Rain sighed and did not answer for a few minutes. When he did, he did not raise his head. "It's just . . . well, yeah, practicing fighting has been fun and it is really helpful, but we never do any of it against any other dogs. It is always just practice, practice, practice. Syph, I want to _use_ my skills, I want to actually _do_ something. Like . . . like Volt's agents."

"Rain, are you saying that you want to fight against someone?"

Thunder cracked again. "Well . . . in a way. I mean, it's just that we never do anything, Arrow will never let us hurt anyone. Not that I want to hurt anyone but . . ." he sighed and looked up at the Cattle Dog. "And I feel that, ever since the fire, ever since that dog went missing, you have been more and more concerned with him. Bolt."

"That's not true," Sypher smiled gently. "Rain, you know I wouldn't choose him over you. I am just helping Arrow and Maria because Bolt is their son. And it's our job to protect him against Volt. And about not hurting anyone, Arrow does that because he cares. Volt doesn't care, he lets his dogs attack at any moment and he doesn't mind if he kills off his own parents or his brother. We aren't like that. Our job it to protect, not to hurt."

"Then what do we train for?" Rain yelled. "All of our training and practices we have had ever since I was a pup, what are they good for?"

"They are good for when we do have to face Volt. When we really need to use them."

"And until then, let's just sit around and continue training for nothing," Rain's face was filled with fury. "I am tired of just doing this, Sypher. I am tired of waiting for the perfect time. I am tired of Arrow's regulations, his stupid rules not to fight. I am so tired of not being able to do anything! I am tired of working under you!"

The words stung Sypher and he stood up and backed away a step. "Rain -"

"No." Rain shook his head, standing up as he spoke. "No, Sypher. This is over. It's through. For five and a half years I have done this, listened to you and Arrow. I am not doing this anymore. Never."

The stormy colored dog took off out the alleyway and into the rain, running off down the sidewalk. Sypher started following him, but stopped as soon as the rain fell on his nose. He looked at the dog running away from him, never once looking back.

And it was then that Sypher knew that it _was_ over. That Rain was never coming back, that Rain no longer would be a part of his everyday life. He knew that it would never be the same after this, that Rain would never be right there with him. That it was over.

-Six Months After The Fire-

Bolt sat on the grass, his eyes hardly blinking as he watched the movers take the furniture into the new house from the moving van. Mittens and Rhino had already gone inside to explore, Mittens mainly going in to watch over the hamster. Penny and her Mom were helping inside with the couch and the TV, which left Bolt alone on the lawn. But he didn't mind. It was his job to supervise the men and make sure nothing wrong happened.

They had moved in to a neighborhood, a little closer in town than their bigger house was, and it seemed to be a nice place.

Bolt yawned and then stared at the men again, his mind wandering.

"Hey," said a voice from behind him.

Bolt jumped up and spun around in surprise, nearly falling over. "Oh my dog, who are you?"

"Calm down," said the Cattle Dog, smiling at Bolt's jumpiness. "It's not like I am a ghost or anything."

"You - you just scared me," said Bolt, calming down. "I didn't hear you come up."

"Right," he smiled at the white dog. "Sorry for scaring you."

"Who are you?"

"I am Sypher," said Sypher. "You can call me that."

"What kind of a name is Sypher?" Bolt asked, smirking.

"What kind of a name is Bolt?"

"It's my name, that's what." Bolt shrugged, then paused as if something just occured to him. "Wait - you were the dog at the vet, that day of the fire, weren't you?"

"Yes," Sypher said. "I was."

"What are you doing . . . wait, never mind. You said you'd see me again or something like that." Bolt rolled his eyes. "I remember now."

"Good, because I would hate it if you forgot,"

"You're weird," Bolt shivered, then grinned. "But hey, if it's all I've got, then it's fine with me."

 **Final Note : Thanks for all who have commented - it has kept me writing this story. There will be many more after this. Just give me time to finish me novel! :D**

 **~Firepower**


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